Dropkick Murphys & Pogues Top Bill for Inaugural Seisiún Irish Festival
Written by djfrosty on March 17, 2025
Nearly three decades after launching NYC’s Fleadh Festival celebrating global Irish culture, two of Fleadh’s founders Joe Killian and Liam Lynch are again joining forces to premiere Seisiún, an Irish music and cultural gathering at Suffolk Downs in Boston.
The Sept. 6-7 event will be produced in partnership with The Bowery Presents, Lynch and Killian, featuring The Pogues and Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys as headlining artists. The Pogues will include original members like banjoist and songwriter Jem Finer, accordionist James Fearnley and tin whistler and singer Spider Stacy. Seisiún will be the Pogue’s first show in the U.S. since the passing of former frontman Shane McGowan in 2023 and the set will celebrate the Irish folk-punkers entire body of work “while honoring Shane, leaving space for alchemy and magic from very special guest performances,” a press release announcing the show reads. A statement from the band confirmed appearances from “such incomparable artists as Lisa O’Neill, John Francis Flynn and The Bad Seeds.”
The band also said: “We are stoked to return to Boston, pretty much a second home for The Pogues in the US – a city where we have shared many unforgettable performances and experiences. We’re looking forward not just to raising a glass or two but also to raising the roof with our fans and friends, old and new, to celebrate the music we’ve made and the alliances we’ve formed over the years.”
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Other artists on the bill include The Hold Steady, The Waterboys, Cardinals, The Rumjacks and Lisa O’Neill. Additional artists will be announced in the future.
Seisiún was created as a two-day festival experience celebrating global Irish music and culture and honoring the memory of the first Fleadh Festival in 1997 on New York City’s Randall’s Island. More than 60,000 music fans attended Fleadh to see sets by McGowan and his band the Popes, Sinead O’Connor, John Prine, Van Morrison and more.
“We’re launching Seisiún at a time when Irish culture is once again witnessing another rich revival and resurgence. There is such an exciting wave of extraordinary cross-category Irish music talent,” explains Lynch. “With this two-day event our hope is to reignite some of that same sense of gathering, of revelry and of community, while also tapping into that emergent new interest in the genre. Let the music keep our spirits high.”
Tickets for Seisiún will go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. ET via AXS.com, the official ticketing outlet for The Stage at Suffolk Downs. Visit StageAtSuffolkDowns.com for more information.