Dropkick Murphys Receive Award at Ohio AFL-CIO Convention
Just days before the Dropkick Murphys released their new album, last week the Ohio AFL-CIO Convention Delegates passed a Resolution to honor the bands’ 25-plus years of telling the stories of working people through song. Their new album is unlike anything Dropkick Murphys have done to date: A full album of songs that bring Woody Guthrie’s words to life. Not a tribute album or a collection of covers, This Machine Still Kills Fascists is a collaboration between Dropkick Murphys and Woody Guthrie – artists separated by time and space but connected by a common philosophy – to create something entirely new and meaningful.
In a September 29 review of the album, No Depression's Jim Shahen sums up Dropkick Murphys' connection not only to Guthrie's lyrics but to his working-class ethos: "No current act has done more to preserve and advance the legacy of Woody Guthrie...Nearly 60 years since his death, the struggles of working men and women and political oppression continue unabated. Those in need remain unheard by people in power. But much like Woody Guthrie, Dropkick Murphys are still out there fighting the good fight."
To that end, the Ohio AFL-CIO presented a lifetime achievement award to the band, extending "special recognition to the Dropkick Murphys for their support of organized labor and dedication to telling the story of the working class through their music for over 25 years." The band then played a 30-minute concert for the union members and guests in attendance.
“The delegates of the Ohio AFL-CIO are proud to recognize the Dropkick Murphys for a career of empowering working people through their music,” said Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga. “The Dropkick Murphys’ long-standing support of organized labor and dedication to telling the story of the working class is unparalleled and their impact is significant.”