Flogging Molly Overcomes Quarantine, Intercontinental Travel For St. Patrick’s Day Livestream

Coming out of a long winter and with good news usually makes for merriment on St. Patrick’s day, and this year was no different. Actually, it was completely different, really.

“We had to do something special, we really thought. We’d never done a show from Ireland before on St. Patrick’s Day and this was a weird opportunity to do it,” says Flogging Molly’s Dave King, who normally splits his time between the U.S. and the Emerald Isle. However, he’s been in his native Ireland (along with violinist Bridget Regan) since March 2020 with the rest of the seven-piece band still stationed in the States. 

“It was very difficult, the whole complexity of getting everyone over from America, the hotels, quarantine, the whole COVID restrictions and crew at the venue,” says King, leader of the band known for its punk-rock energy and Celtic instrumentation. They had not done a proper gig since its own Flogging Molly cruise event in November 2019, and were about to kick off its usual touring season when the pandemic hit. “It was really strange. But the beautiful thing was getting back together and actually playing together. That brought it all back.”

After a week of quarantining and the travel difficulties leading up to what would be a fully live streamed set on March 17, there were three days of rehearsal.

“We just started playing and it was that old saying, like riding a bicycle. It all came flooding back,” says King. Taking over the full floor of Whelan’s pub, which was the band’s first Irish gig, King admits having no immediate feedback or in-person audience participation during the show was odd, and that the planning for the show felt like putting the effort of a whole tour into one gig. But, overall, “It was incredible. It did a lot for us as a band, actually, doing this. It galvanized what we’re all about, which is to be together.”

The event was produced by Danny Wimmer Presents along with the band and management company 5B Artists, led by CEO Cory Brennan and band co-manager Bob Johnsen. The stream sold 15,000 tickets, leaving both 5B and DWP “psyched,” according to Johnsen. The event also partnered with Sweet Relief benefiting crews and bands during COVID-19. Irish distillery Bushmills supported the event as sponsor, and had its own whiskey delivery program tied to the show, where fans could get some liquid merriment sent right to their doorsteps. 

The show also included the option of virtual meet and greets with the band, 50 people at a time for each of five days after the stream, which King said showed him the impact of the show and music on fans across the world. 

‘It’s been really amazing doing that, it’s meant a lot to people like ourselves all stuck at home trying to do our best,” King says. “The fact that so many people said, ‘We’ll always support you guys’ – a lot of people said that, and it was wonderful to hear. Not for just us obviously, but our crews and so many people that have been affected by this. Listening to other people’s situations was incredible, that was an eye opener. It was nice to be in people’s living rooms every night for the last five nights just talking, as friends. I’m glad we did it.”

The significance of the holiday was notable as well, with King noting he hadn’t been on Irish soil for St. Patrick’s Day in decades.

“As a kid growing up in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t really that big of a deal. It was a religious holiday, you had to go to Mass, and that was like .. ehh, whatever,” says King, laughing. “But what’s great and what’s happened in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day is that the influx of immgiration has brought so many different people together that the celebration seems to have exploded. I remember a couple of years ago on tour watching the celebrations from Ireland and saying, ‘What!? this is what’s going on there now? It was never like that when I was kid!’”

While touring remains an unknown, and King says Ireland’s vaccination rollout leaves much to be desired, the immediate next plans are to head back to the States, likely around May, and record a new album, which will surely be influenced by 2020 and the state of things.

“There’s no doubt about that. I think every band is going to come out with a punk rock album,” King says, laughing. “It’s going to be like greyhounds running after a rabbit.”