Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys twin bill at Jacobs Pavilion will be two rounds of Irish-flavored punk rock

Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly have spent the last 20 years carving out their own Celtic folk-punk niche without ever touring together. That travesty ends this year with the two Irish-heritage-based bands venturing out this spring.

“Over the years we played maybe three shows together, just by chance,” said Flogging Molly guitarist Dennis Casey, calling from Long Island, New York. “Last summer, we played a show together in Milan, so the Italians got us together. It was unbelievable. The people went crazy.

“There’s a lot of respect and camaraderie. We said, ‘Let’s do this in the U.S.’ It makes complete sense. We share a lot of the same fans, but we each have our own fans, as well. I think anybody that is going to come to that show is going to get their money’s worth.”

The co-headlining bill actually starts off in Northeast Ohio, with the bands playing a gig June 1 at the Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica.

“Cleveland is a special place for Flogging Molly, because we’ve been playing there for so long,” Casey said. “We did so many Warped Tours there and so many nights at the House of Blues. It’s working-class, and people really appreciate and enjoy what we do. You can’t help but feel it’s apropos to start the tour there.”

Flogging Molly is touring in support of its recently released sixth studio effort, “Life Is Good,” which was recorded in Ireland with Grammy Award-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli (U2, The White Stripes, Beck).

On the surface, the album title suggests everything is going well for the Dave King-led band. However, when fans dig beneath the surface, they’ll discover a project steeped in political strife and personal tribulations. The former is tied to how politicians are impacting folks who live in the margins.

“This was difficult for me,” Casey said. “When Dave said he wanted to call the record that, I said that’s a hard title because most people are going to think champagne and yachts and ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.’ It’s what a lot of the record isn’t about.

“The song ‘Life Is Good’ sums it up. I know Dave was really inspired by the fact his mother died and my father died. So life is horrible, but it’s also good at the same time. That’s basically kind of what the idea of it is. Some people are dying in wars, famine, starvation, but life is also very beautiful in many different ways. It’s the age-old dichotomy, both things good and bad.”

A perfect example is the song “Hope,” which belies its optimistic title. Casey said there’s something about the Irish inherently having a distinct way of taking the most tragic things in life and adding a bright side.

“The song ‘Hope’ is pretty dismal, but it sounds hopeful,” Casey said. “It’s kind of both things.”

Talk about life being good, it currently doesn’t get any better for fans of Celtic punk and rock. Going forward, can it get any better for fans?

“Maybe next year we’ll add The Pogues,” Casey laughed. “One can dream, right.”

Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly

When: 6:30 p.m. June 1.

Where: Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica, 2014 Sycamore St., Cleveland.

Tickets: $44.50 to $49.50.

Info: ticketmaster.com.

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