Dropkick Murphys pull out of festival due to owner’s support of Donald Trump
Dropkick Murphys have pulled out of all Punk in the Park festival appearances due to its founder’s financial support of Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign.
On July 23rd, Dropkick Murphys made the announcement on Instagram, writing in the caption of a video from a Punk in the Park event: “Punk Rock and Donald Trump just don’t belong together. So Upon finding out that Brew Ha Ha promotions donated to the Trump campaign we will not be playing any more Punk in the Park show.”
The video shows frontman Ken Casey reiterating their reasoning for pulling out by telling an audience at Punk in the Park in Denver last weekend, “This will be the final Punk in the Park performance ever for the Dropkick Murphys, so let’s make it a good one, shall we?” Elsewhere in the clip, Casey says, “The far right ain’t the new punk.”
According to NBC News, Cameron Collins, Brew Ha Ha owner, donated to the Trump National Committee, Never Surrender and WinRed ahead of the 2024 election.
Collins responded to their decision by making a statement and clarifying his political stance. He began: “I have never posted anything political on our platforms and have no intention of doing so in the future, but this needs to be addressed. There have been a lot of assumptions and conclusions made as to who I am and what my values are.”
The festival founder added of his support for Trump at the last election: “We live in a two-party system, and unfortunately, you must choose based on a few important issues that resonate with you. For me, those issues were the promise to end wars and refrain from entering new international conflicts, lower taxes, and stopping government overreach.”
Collins then distanced himself from the Trump administration by saying that he hasn’t “been pleased with many of the President’s viewpoints, opinions, and policies thus far, particularly with the recent ICE atrocities and the backtracking on the Epstein files”.
The Punk in the Park owner went on to say that he believes he has “common ground” on “big issues” such as “being anti-racism, anti-war and the belief in human rights for EVERYONE”. Collins also stated “the festival has not and will not donate any of its proceeds to any political party”.
He concluded the lengthy message by writing: “Over the years, I’ve been proud to provide a platform for artists to connect with hundreds of thousands of fans. We’ve invested millions of dollars in artist guarantees, and I’ve never censored or restricted a band’s message or voice. Our track record speaks for itself.”
The next Punk in the Park event is scheduled to take place in Worcester, Massachusetts, on September 27th, and will feature performances from bands such as Bad Religion and Pennywise.
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