Crawfish Fest coming to Fairgrounds
AUGUSTA — GRAMMY winners, New Orleans music legends and authentic Louisiana home-cooked cuisine await festival goers at Michael Arnone's 28th Annual Crawfish Fest. The 3-day Music, Food and Camping Festival will be held June 2, 3, 4, 2017, at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta.
This year's festival features 24 artists playing on four different stages, plus music workshops presented by 2-time GRAMMY® winner Terrance Simien, beloved New Orleans keyboardist John Gros, and the John Ginty Band, fresh off the release of their third album, Rocker.
Some of the biggest names in New Orleans and Louisiana music head up the list of talent at this year's festival including Sunday Night main stage headliner Anders Osborne, who follows GRAMMY winners, Rebirth Brass Band. Headlining the Pavilion Stage on Sunday night is GRAMMY winner Charles "Horn Man" Neville. Fan favorite blues guitarist and singer, Tab Benoit will take over the Main Stage on Saturday, opening for The Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring
Kim Wilson. Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience will headline the Pavilion stage.
For those in the area wanting an early sampling during Mardi Gras Season, Tab Benoit will be at The Highline Ballroom in Manhattan March 3. Our Sunday Headliner Anders Osborne, will be at The Capitol Theater in Portchester February 18th. Flow Tribe played an amazing set for our Friday night Campers and will be at Brooklyn Bowl on Feb 23.
To have your own Mardi Gras party on Fat Tuesday, Feb 28, order Michael Arnone's Jambalaya Mix from the Crawfish Fest Online Store. You will enjoy the same taste that Arnone creates from scratch at the Crawfish Fest. You can also enjoy New Orleans King Cakes in your office or home. Here are a few of Michael's favorite spots to order them from: Haydel's Bakery, Randazzo's, and Gambino's Bakery.
A favorite thing about Jazz Fest in New Orleans is that a day of music outdoors is backed up by a night of music in the clubs. Crawfish Fest has similar treats for fans who purchase camping tickets or King Crawfish Krewe tickets by putting on three sets of music each night on Friday and Saturday just for them. These sets are at the Pavilion Stage and in the Dance Hall, giving Fest-goers an intimate experience to go with their festival days. This year's sets include The New Stew (featuring Corey Glover from Living Color, Roosevelt Collier from The Lee Boys and Yonrico Scott from Royal Southern Brotherhood), Little Freddie King, Henry Butler's Jambalaya Band, Feufollet, Darcy Malone and The Tangle and Mason Ruffner.
Michael Arnone's Crawfish Fest has always been known for a fantastic variety of Louisiana cuisine. All dishes are priced at $12 or less and bring to New Jersey the great food dishes that are hard to find elsewhere in the Northeast. The Crawfish Fest will be serving Jambalaya, Boiled Crawfish, Po-Boys (oyster, shrimp, catfish and hot roast beef), Crawfish Etouffee, Crawfish Bread, Char Broiled Oysters, Alligator Sausage, Boudin, Red Beans and more. Breakfast is available for campers to purchase from 6-10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and will include Beignets and Louisiana coffee.
The Dance Hall with its 2,000 square foot wooden dance floor is in fantastic hands again this year with Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, Feufollet and Kevin Naquin and The Ossun Playboys. There are free Cajun/Zydeco dance lessons in the Dance Hall on Saturday and Sunday at 11:00am. Krystal A Livingston will take you to church with a gospel set on Sunday morning in the Pavilion.
Funk, R&B and Rock and Roll are always big features at Crawfish Fest. This year you can hear Flow Tribe return after their magnificent, festival-shaking set last year, along with long time festival favorite John Papa Gros Band and Alexis P. Suter Band. New Additions this year include The Nick Moss Band and John The Martyr. A couple of new genre additions to the lineup are Americana and Bluegrass played by Brooklyn-based Yarn and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre band Cabinet.
Visit CrawfishFest,com for info, to view our schedule, menu and to purchase our single, 2-day Combo, and Camping Tickets. Check out our Chef's Table. We will serve you a sampling of our fest menu.