The Crawfest

Board announced Feb. 5 that this year’s lineup will feature Lettuce, Marco Benevento

and The Main Squeeze as festival headliners.

The rest of the lineup includes Wild Child, Ballyhoo!, Flow Tribe, Sexual Thunder! and The Original Pinettes

Brass Band.

While past years have showcased around 12 bands playing on three stages, the Crawfest Board decided to shorten the all-day festival this year and create a more focused show with eight bands and two stages.

“In the past, it’s been such a long day that students are tired before the headliners even come on,” Crawfest

Board Chair Katie Zion said. “We wanted to increase quality over quantity.”

The Crawfest

Board strived to include a variety of musical genres and local acts in this year’s lineup.

“We like to have a nice mix of music styles because the New Orleans music scene is very eclectic, and so is Tulane students’ music taste,” Zion said.

Headlining band Lettuce, a seven-member funk band based out of Brooklyn, has more than 20 years of experience playing together.

“I think that college-aged students don’t know enough about New Orleans and all the types of music that are out there. Lettuce bridges the gap for those students because they really bring funk and energy to a younger audience,” Music Co-Chair Sam Fihma

said. “Lettuce was hard to book, but I’m glad that we eventually got them.”

Named after its leader, three-piece outfit Marco Benevento

uses a piano, bass and drum to fuse sounds of jazz and rock, among other genres.

“We’re taking a chance on him because not a lot of people know his name, but he really gets involved with his audience and has a lot of energy, so I think he will be perfect for Crawfest

,” Fihma

said.

Returning act The Main Squeeze integrates sounds of funk, rock, electro and jazz into a five-man group. Zion said that after its performance last year, the group expressed interest in playing at Crawfest

again.

“We usually don’t like to bring a bunch of bands back, because we want to have a new fresh lineup every year. [The Main Squeeze] did so well last year and we got such good feedback that we couldn’t resist,” Zion said.

“The bigger acts are all sort of funky and jammy

. You can see the diversity in the smaller acts,” Fihma

said.

Several minor performances will take place during 15-minute breaks between sets. Intermediate acts include local favorites The 610 Stompers and the Crescent City Dance Team, among other local groups.

Other bands demonstrate the varied array of musical genres to grace the Crawfest

stages, including reggae rock band Ballyhoo! and the folk sounds of Wild Child. Never to stray from its roots, the Crawfest

Board also brought in New Orleans natives Flow Tribe, student band Sexual Thunder! and The Original Pinettes

Brass Band, an all-female group.

Students have received the new lineup with enthusiasm.

“I’m glad they’re still doing a lot of funk music,” sophomore Ani

Carlson said. “It really encapsulates the whole environment of Crawfest.”