Article & Photos by Ommar Ortuvia

Houston, TX —  St. Patrick’s Day is still about one month away, but the spirit of this celebration was alive and well in the House of Blues in downtown Houston, Texas. On the evening of February 18^th, Boston’s Dropkick Murphys swung by the city for one of their stops on the “For The People…In The Pit, St. Patrick’s Day Tour 2026” tour that celebrated not only their Celtic Punk music, but also their 30 years of formation as a band.

Within the packed venue, amongst the Irish flat caps and anti-Nazi t-shirts, the attendees were treated to an evening full of resistance and anti-authority with the help of California’s Slugger, an in-your-face punk band with a classic Oi! sound that transports you to the early 80s. Afterwards hardcore Boston band Haywire took the stage, riling up the crowd with their fast guitars and strong vocals.  To balance the night, LA’s The Aggrolites brought their brand of reggae, dubbed “dirty reggae,” and mellowed out the crowd with their nostalgic Hammond organs, soulful vocals, and smooth bass. But even they were able to punk it up a bit by changing the words to their cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Were Made for Walkin'” to “these boots were made for stomping.”

After The Aggrolites completed their set, the Dropkick Murphys sound check started – hearing the typical drums and guitars is still exciting, but it is a very interesting experience hearing bagpipes perform a sound check! Once the lights dimmed a loop recording of Sham 69’s classic lyrics “if the kids are united, they will never be divided” began playing, as the band members walked on stage. Dropkick Murphys’ set was officially started when the bagpipe intro for “Deeds Not Words” began, with the subsequent guitars and drums entering the song. But once Ken Casey (Dropkick Murphys’ lead singer) started out with “where you gonna run to?” the crowd started swaying, moshing, and crowd-surfing immediately.

Next up, with its instantly-recognizable banjo intro, was “The State of Massachusetts.” Then played “The Gang’s All Here,” followed by “The Boys Are Back,” and then “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya.” By now the band and the crowd had warmed up quite a bit, giving those seasoned fans a good taste of the classics they grew up with. And for those who were seeing the Dropkick Murphys for the first time, it gave them a good taste of Celtic punk, where you can similarly sing these songs at the local pub with a pint in your hand, or at the abandoned warehouse gig while in the circle pit.

This momentum was kept up during the rest of the set, mixing tried and true classics with some more contemporary songs from their latest studio album, 2025’s For the People. Ken, with his larger-than-life persona, kept the crowd entertained by interacting with them throughout the night – chatting between songs or climbing onto a platform placed in front of the crowd barrier for Casey and other band members to get close and personal to the fans during songs. At one point Casey even explained the origin of the band, which according to him, came about from a challenge that he had to form a band in 3 weeks to open for another band. At one point the band broke away from their Boston Irish roots for a minute to play a cover of “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” giving the Texan crowd something “local” to sing to.

The band then moved to finish the night with “I’m Shipping up to Boston,” followed by their last song “The Big Man.” After a whopping 23-song, 90-minute set by the Dropkick Murphys, along with the openers, the fans were treated to a fun night that mixed classic and Celtic punk, hardcore, and reggae, giving the fans a little bit of chill and a whole lot of attitude, and despite the different genres there was a sense of camaraderie amongst the crowd. Everyone can agree that all these musical styles share a sense of rebellion and anti-establishment, and that made all the people in the venue feel like brothers and sisters. And by the end of the night, accordions, banjos, and bagpipes generated enough disobedience as sharp lyrics and guitars, and we all left feeling a little bit Irish. On that note I will finish this by channeling my dad and his classic line: “Yes, Ortuvia is a good Irish name…O’rtuvia, see?”

You can catch the Dropkick Murphys on their current tour through February and mid-March until their homecoming in Boston, with their final show on St. Patrick’s Day.