Boston, get ready to say “dia duit” to a new Irish festival.
Organizers announced Monday morning that Seisiún, a new two-day cultural gathering and music fest, ships up to the Hub Sept. 6-7, and will be at The Stage at Suffolk Downs. Pronounced as “sesh-oon” and Irish for “session,” Seisiún will feature a mix of “emerging talent with essential American artists,” according to a press release, with The Pogues and Dropkick Murphys leading the bill as headliners. The Hold Steady, The Waterboys, Cardinals, The Rumjacks, and Lisa O’Neill will also take the stage this September, with more lineup announcements to come.
The upcoming music fest marks a big moment for The Pogues, as the band’s founding members will perform stateside for the first time in nearly two decades. Lead singer Shane MacGowan passed away in 2023. According to the press release, The Pogues “will celebrate [their] entire body of work,” as well as pay tribute to MacGowan, teasing “special guest performances” during the band’s set. The upcoming show will also honor the 40th anniversary of the band’s 1985 album “Rum Sodomy & the Lash.”
“We are stoked to return to Boston, pretty much a second home for The Pogues in the US — a city where we have shared many unforgettable performances and experiences,” The Pogues members Jem Finer, James Fearnley, and Spider Stacy said in a press release statement. “We’re looking forward not just to raising a glass or two but also to raising the roof with our fans and friends, old and new, to celebrate the music we’ve made and the alliances we’ve formed over the years.”
The new event is a bit of a spiritual successor to Fleadh Festival, a music fest popular during the late ‘90s that celebrated Irish culture and featured performances by big names like Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, Elvis Costello, and Tracy Chapman. According to the press release, Fleadh debuted in 1997, bringing 60,000 fans together at New York City’s Randall’s Island, later taking over Suffolk Downs in 1999 with a crowd of more than 30,000 attendees. Seisiún is co-founded by Joe Killian and Liam Lynch, a pair of original producers behind Fleadh, who are teaming up again for the upcoming Boston gathering, along with new partners The Bowery Presents.
“We’re launching Seisiún at a time when Irish culture is once again witnessing another rich revival and resurgence,” Lynch said in a statement. “With this two-day event our hope is to reignite some of that same sense of gathering, of revelry and of community, while also tapping into that emergent new interest in the genre.”
Tickets to Seisiún go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. on AXS.com.
Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.