Can you say DKMMMB? Dropkick Murphys and Mighty Mighty Bosstones to play (part of) Fenway Park.

Looks like Pearl Jam fans will have to wait til next year. 

Everyone's perennial guess for who'll-play-Fenway-next turned out not to be on the menu after all. Instead, as some people correctly guessed, it'll be DROPKICK MURPHYS and the MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES at Fenway Park on September 8 and 9. Tickets go on sale July 7, provided the city gives this whole thing a thumbs-up. 

So this will be sort of like a NKOTBSB for fans of the genre in which punk bands also play non-indigenous folk musics. (Say it with us: DKMMMB! DKMMMB!) Don't believe us? Check the YT footage (above) wherein the Bosstones gang up with Dropkicks for a seventeen-zillion-guitar-players-plus-bagpipes-plus-Ben-Carr-dancing version of "Shipping Up To Boston," from a show at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket (home of the Pawsox).

Despite the rumors of a DKMMMB team-up, this one still comes as a surprise: namely because neither of those bands is capable of selling out Fenway Park even once, let alone twice. (Add up every person who saw Dropkicks hometown stand during St. Patrick's Week, throw in everyone who saw the Bosstones' last Hometown Throwdown, and you'd still have good seats available at the door for one night on Yawkey Way.) Even if ownership had decided they needed to baptize the stadium with "Tessie" juice in time for a playoff run, one suspects there would've been a cheaper way to do it.

So what's up? Wellll . . . turns out they're only playing to the outfield. 

The stage will be set up atop the right-field bullpen, and the bands will play in the direction of the bleachers. Which suggests that the capacity for these shows will be, at most, in the six- to seven-thousand range. A press release notes that this configuration has been attempted before for a "Hot Stove, Cool Music" benefit, although our recollection of that concert involved a stage along the first-base line. We're nitpicking, of course, but it seemed cooler when the bands could come out of the dugout.

But hey: Dropkicks at Fenway, khed. Rejoice.

(Also: they're giving away banjos!)

Here's the full press release:

Dropkick Murphys will perform two landmark hometown shows--September 8 and 9--at Boston’s Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, pending city approval. A portion of the proceeds from the two Dropkick Murphys at Fenway with Special Guests The Mighty Mighty Bosstones shows will benefit the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund--which helps support families of victims of 9/11 throughout the state--as well as the band’s charity The Claddagh Fund. Special guests The Mighty Mighty Bosstones will perform at both shows, with additional opening acts to be announced in the coming weeks.

Dropkick Murphys bassist/vocalist/founder Ken Casey comments, “We feel honored and privileged to share a connection and friendship with the Boston Red Sox. Our involvement in the 2004 and 2007 championship seasons are some of the greatest highlights of our career and our lives. But to be invited by the Sox to join the select few who have performed full concerts at the park is truly a dream come true!”

“Dropkick Murphys have permeated Boston and New England sports culture, particularly here at Fenway Park where ‘I’m Shipping Up to Boston’ has long signaled [pitcher] Jonathan Papelbon’s trip to the mound,” said Red Sox Executive Vice President/COO Sam Kennedy. “The band has debuted songs here, been part of our rallies and shared in our joy during the 2007 World Series parade. We are thrilled to be hosting them this coming September and look forward to also helping local 9/11 charities through this concert.”

While the critically-acclaimed Dropkick Murphys--known for their complex distillation of classic punk rock, Celtic folk and American rock 'n’ roll--have performed at Fenway Park in the past, including their debut of “Tessie” in July 2004, these will be their first-ever concerts at the ballpark. Dropkick Murphys join the ranks of musical greats Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Jimmy Buffett, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, The Rolling Stones, The Police, J. Geils Band, Aerosmith and NKOTBSB who have all performed at Fenway Park.

Tickets for both shows go on sale Thursday, July 7 at Noon ET and will be available online at redsox.com/dropkicks, by calling (877) RED-SOX9, or at the Fenway Park box office. The shows will feature a “bleacher theater” style set up, with the stage set atop the bullpens in right field, and fans seated in the bleachers and first few Grandstand sections. This intimate setting has been used for other successful shows at Fenway Park, including the 2007 Hot Stove, Cool Music concert series, which included Grammy-winning artist and musician John Legend, and by the Boston Landmark Orchestra in 2010.

Dropkick Murphys are currently touring in support of their Going Out In Style CD (Born & Bred Records/ILG), which debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200--the group’s highest chart debut to date. Their latest trek launched June 19 in Winnipeg, MB and includes a headlining slot at the annual 4th of July weekend Hootenanny in Irvine, CA, where DKM--Al Barr (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, accordion, whistle, vocals), Ken Casey (lead vocals, bass guitar), Jeff DaRosa (banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, vocals), James Lynch (guitar, vocals), and Scruffy Wallace (bagpipes)--will be joined by such artists as Reverend Horton Heat, Murder City Devils, Supersuckers, Swingin’ Utters, Royal Crown Revue, John Doe and more. The current North American dates will wrap August 6 and the band will head overseas for European festival dates from August 12-21.

In other news, Deering Banjos has teamed with Dropkick Murphys to give away an autographed Dropkick Murphys Goodtime Tenor Banjo, along with other prizes.  The sweepstakes runs through Monday, July 11 and can be entered online at: //www.deeringbanjos.com/dropkick-murphys-banjo-sweepstakes.