The Pogues label Shane MacGowan tribute concert “a grift”
The upcoming tribute show for Sinéad O’Connor and Shane MacGowan at Carnegie Hall in New York has been labelled a “a grift” by the surviving members of The Pogues.
After the death of the artists last year, plans for a tribute concert to two of Ireland’s biggest musical stars were announced. Organised by New York’s City Winery, the show is due to take place on March 20th, just days after St Patrick’s Day.
In addition to general admission tickets, City Winery are offering a variety of VIP packages with perks, including being able to select the setlist for the show. Tickets range from $300 to $20,000, though proceeds from the show will go towards the charity PEN America, which protects free speech.
The line-up consists of David Gray, Glen Hansard, Cat Power, Dropkick Murphys, Lisa Hannigan, Billy Bragg, Amanda Palmer, Flogging Molly, Steve Earle, Imelda May, Gordon Gano, Josh Ritter, The Mountain Goats, Bettye Lavette, Eugene Hütz, Roisin Waters, Julia Cumming, Kat Edmonson, and Resistance Revival Chorus. However, one notable absence from the show is The Pogues themselves.
Although the band has not officially toured since 2014, the surviving members of the band did reunite to perform ‘Fairytale of New York’ at MacGowan’s funeral. Nevertheless, the members are not featured in the final lineup of the Carnegie Hall show.
Responding to a post on X, formerly Twitter, about their absence, The Pogues revealed, “Carnegie Hall organisers did eventually ask, but wouldn’t tell us if they’d pay our flights and hotels until we agreed to appear. It’s all a grift.”
Meanwhile, The Pogues’ Spider Stacy paid tribute to MacGowan last month, writing: “It’s a strange place to find myself, writing about my friend who has died, my friend without whom my life would have been utterly different. And I honestly don’t know what to write.”
Stacy continued: “So much has already been said, so many beautiful, heartfelt words from people who have lost someone dear to them, a brother, a lover… someone who was besides all else such a towering figure, a genius who could shape the hopes and fears, the sad, stained glory of the human condition into such extraordinary forms, as Andrew Ranken recently wrote, ‘Those brilliant, timeless, shining songs…’”
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