Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-08-19
The Bogmen will return to New York City’s Webster Hall on September 11, 2026 for a special performance marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The evening will honor the victims of the tragedy and feature special guests Vapors of Morphine, featuring Dana Colley of Morphine.
The concert carries deep personal meaning for The Bogmen. The band built a devoted following throughout the 1990s among New York City’s first responders and Wall Street community and lost fans, friends, and family members in the September 11 attacks.
At the heart of the band’s annual remembrance is Kristy Irvine-Ryan, wife of Bogmen member Brendan Ryan, who was killed in the South Tower on September 11, 2001, at age 30. Her life and legacy have remained closely connected to the band’s history ever since.
Following The Bogmen’s breakup in the late 1990s, the band reunited in December 2001 for two sold-out benefit concerts at Irving Plaza. The shows raised money for Secret Smiles, a charity Kristy and her friends had founded in the late 1990s to support underprivileged children.
Those tribute performances and the band’s continuing connection to September 11 became the subject of Chris Cassidy’s documentary We Will Go To Them Tonight.
More than two decades later, the September 11 Webster Hall performance will serve both as a remembrance of those who were lost and a reflection on New York City’s resilience.
The Bogmen are expected to draw from throughout their catalog, including songs from their Arista Records debut, Life Begins at Forty Million, produced by Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison, along with material from Closed Caption Radio and their most recent album, In My Kingdom.
The evening will also feature Vapors of Morphine, a longtime favorite of The Bogmen. The group features saxophonist Dana Colley, a founding member of Morphine. Following the death of Morphine frontman Mark Sandman, Colley continued exploring the band’s distinctive musical legacy through Vapors of Morphine, making the group a natural addition to an evening centered on remembrance and resilience.
The Bogmen formed in the early 1990s around lead singer Billy Campion and brothers Billy and Brendan Ryan, later adding bassist Mark Wike, percussionist P.J. O’Connor, and drummer Clive Tucker. The band developed a loyal following through relentless East Coast touring and a sound that mixed rock, soul, Afrobeat-infused rhythms, and anthemic power pop.
After signing with Arista Records, The Bogmen released Life Begins at Forty Million, which included fan favorites “Suddenly,” “Yellar,” and “Englewood.” Their touring years included shows with Shane MacGowan, Barenaked Ladies, Guster, KISS, and The Ramones, along with festival appearances alongside artists including Billy Bragg, Patti Smith, Wilco, and John Lee Hooker.
The band eventually disbanded following its second studio album, Closed Caption Radio, but continued to reunite at significant moments. In addition to the 2001 Irving Plaza benefits, The Bogmen released the Looking For Heaven In The Barrio EP in 2010 and returned with In My Kingdom in 2024, their first full-length album in more than 25 years.
Recorded between 2021 and 2023 at The Carriage House in Stamford, Connecticut, In My Kingdom grew out of another period of loss and upheaval. The album was produced by Billy Campion and Brendan Ryan and explored themes of community, spirituality, compassion, addiction, recovery, and survival.
That history gives the Webster Hall concert added weight. For The Bogmen, reunion shows have rarely been simple exercises in nostalgia. Again and again, the band has returned around moments when its members and community have needed music as a way to remember, reconnect, and move forward.
The Bogmen with special guests Vapors of Morphine featuring Dana Colley will perform Friday, September 11, 2026 at Webster Hall in New York City.
Tickets and information are available through Webster Hall.
For more information on The Bogmen, visit TheBogmen.com.
