Massachusetts has a rich history of giving the middle finger to tyrants and bloated politicians, and the Dropkick Murphys have been providing the backing track to Boston’s anti-authoritarianism since the 1990s. Already an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, frontman Ken Casey is calling for the punk artists and musicians to “never take shit from a bully,” and to “stand up and push back” against the president and his agenda.
“I by no means think that punk should be uniformly one thing,” Casey tells Rolling Stone in an exclusive interview. “But the punk that I was raised to listen to, it should be speaking up against abuses in the government.”
“Obviously something that’s near and dear to our heart is workers’ rights,” he adds. “At every level, Trump will turn his back on working people in favor of the elite and the wealthy. … So, on behalf of punk rock, on behalf of regular people, on behalf of America as a whole, we feel like it’s our duty to speak out.”
Casey’s public campaign to mobilize punk artists is being launched in partnership with Home of the Brave, a nonprofit founded by former Republicans with a focus on highlighting the negative impact of Trump’s agenda on Americans. Casey will join the organization as a member of its advisory board, beginning his tenure with a set of videos centered around his activism and call to action.
“If we’ve been outspoken even in times that were nowhere near as drastic as this, why would we not step up our level of activism as the stakes are raised?” Casey says in a recorded interview released Wednesday by Home of the Brave.
“I just like that it’s a platform to give people a voice, to be able to tell the story about how things have affected them,” Casey says of his work with the organization. “Too many people in America have to rely on social media or news that might have a certain narrative or agenda, and nothing tells the story of what’s going on better than real Americans just talking about what happened to them.”
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Over the past year, Casey and the Dropkick Murphys have become increasingly vocal about their disdain for the president. In July, they dedicated their new single “First Class Loser” to Trump during their appearance at Warped Tour in Long Beach, California, and lambasted the president for his alleged connections to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein. In March, they berated a fan waving around a MAGA hat, telling him to “shut the fuck up” for a few minutes while they “a play a song about our grandparents and people who fought Nazis.”
“This is America, there’s no kings here,” Casey told the man.
Casey says their activism is nothing new, he and the band are “doing what we’ve done for 30 years, playing music for the people.”
“I think Donald Trump’s done a great job of being divisive. I’d love to see America get away from him and his hateful rhetoric and find our common ground again … but at the same time, you’ve got to speak truth to power.”
While the president has yet to respond directly to the Dropkick Murphy’s, other musicians who’ve criticized the president have found themselves in the crosshairs of his thirst for retribution. Trump threatened to investigate legendary singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen after he endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race. The president also called for Beyoncé to be prosecuted over baseless conspiracies that she was paid to endorse Harris.
The administration is currently having a meltdown over the selection of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny to perform at the Superbowl Halftime Show, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said there will be a heavy ICE presence at the event.
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“I had never really listened to Bad Bunny’s music, but after his performance in Happy Gilmore 2, I will go to the mat for that guy,” Casey says. “God bless his heart. He is a true, true American.”
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“[The administration] just wants to control everything, every narrative. There’s way bigger problems in the world than who is at the halftime show at the Super Bowl,” he adds, noting his appreciation for how the reggaeton artist had handled the backlash to his activism.
“If you don’t get involved now, you might lose your chance to get involved later, Casey says. “Maybe if you keep your mouth shut and you just go along and get along, it might not affect you yet, but it’s going to affect you eventually.”
