Tom May, a singer and guitarist with the well-known punk band the Menzingers, is returning to his hometown to celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day season. He’s bringing Bar Dust, an Irish-inflected punk band, to The Bog on Tuesday.
The Scranton bar, typically closed on Tuesdays, is opening its doors for the occasion.
Bar Dust is a side project for May. The Menzingers, created in Scranton around 20 years ago, released a new song, “Nobody’s Heroes,” in February. All four band members now live in Philadelphia.
The new group is a Pogues cover band that is also producing new music inspired by the Irish punk band and traditional Celtic music. The show at The Bog will include covers and original works. The seven-man band will include traditional instruments such as the tin whistle and accordion. A banjo player may join in.
Sean Huber, of the emo band Modern Baseball, started the band a few years ago. It has toured the Northeast and performed in London.
May visited The Bog on his 21st birthday in 2007. “And I’ve been talking up The Bog, as like the most legendary pub and music place that I grew up going to and was so influenced by, and so many great bands had come out of that scene,” he said. “And the guys were like, ‘Yeah, we need to go back there.’ ”
May has Irish as well as Lebanese heritage. His grandfather, Mike Abdalla, a retired Penn State Scranton professor who lives in Moosic, plays the tin whistle as a hobby.
“We were constantly surrounded by Irish music, going on at festivals, and on parade day every year,” May said.
The band goes on at 8 p.m. and will play until around 11. There is a $10 cover charge at the door of the bar at 341 Adams Ave.
The Scranton tour date is one of nine in March for Bar Dust, coming between one in Atlantic City and a Pittsburgh concert.
The band is releasing an EP on Friday, called “Bar Dust: From the Studio Vol. 1.”