New Jersey! Get ready for Michael Arnone’s 32nd Annual Crawfish Fest, returning to the Sussex County Fairgrounds, 37 Plains Rd., Friday, May 30 through Sunday, June 1, 2025, bringing the best food, music, and culture that Louisiana and New Orleans have to offer to the East Coast. Saturday and/or Sunday day tickets, Saturday/Sunday Combo Tickets, three-day Camping/General Admission tickets (starting at $45) and Glamping Tents (which include 3-day admission) offering campers a large tent, bed, linens, outdoor chairs, and more are now available on Eventbrite. Campers are treated to Campers-Only sets on Friday and Saturday Evening with free Jambalaya being served for dinner on Day #1, Friday, May 30. Our new Interactive Hotel Map makes it simpler to find local lodging and shuttle services. Free Parking; kids under 14 free with parents. Certified service animals admitted.
The 2025 Crawfish Fest features multiple Grammy Award-winning and nominated musicians and legends in their own right, including: Galatic featuring Jelly Joseph, touring in support of their new album Audience with the Queen; George Porter Jr and Runnin’ Pardners, supporting their new album, Porter’s Pocket; Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, touring in support of their new album The Bywater Sessions; two-time Grammy winner Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience; drummer extraordinaire, Stanton Moore; famed New Orleans vocalist-pianist, Marcia Ball; one of today's hottest new blues-roots groups, Southern Avenue, tour supporting their new album, Family; New Orleans' brass-funk rockers, Bonerama; Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters, who released More Fun With Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters in late 2024; veteran blues bandleader-guitarist, Corey Harris; Texas guitarist Carolyn Wonderland, whose new album Truth Is, drops mid-May; New Orleans vocalist formerly of Galactic, Maggie Koerner; Eddie 9V, who released Saratoga on Ruf Records mid-2024; Cajun band Amis Du Teche; jazz-blues funk-sters, Johnny Sketch and The Dirty Notes; developmentally-challenged group United By Music USA (promoting their most recent Alligator 2024 release, We've Got The Music; New Jersey's own Ocean Avenue Stompers; seven-piuece rock group, Cold Hill; and Uncle Shoehorn’s Big Easy, a Hudson Valley-based band who pays tribute to New Orleans heritage music. The full stage schedule can be found on the Crawfish Fest website.
All the 2025 Crawfish Fest artists and chefs are being interviewed by Alison Kaufman, CFF Emcee, Host of Morning Mojo on WNCI-FM and writer for several music magazines, beginning Thursday, April 24. Kaufman's first guest is Crawfish Fest Producer/Creator, Michael Arnone. Every few days until the Crawfish Fest, Alison's interviews will be broadcast on Crawfish Fest's social media at (facebook.com/people/Michael-Arnones-Crawfish-Fest-in-Sussex-County-NJ/100064471698647/#.
In addition to top-notch Louisiana musical talent, many famous Louisiana dishes created on-site by Louisiana vendors that are difficult to find anywhere outside of South Louisiana can be purchased at Crawfish Fest. Featured menu items include Michael’s Smoked Pork Sausage/Chicken Jambalaya cooked in 45-gallon cast iron pots; Boiled Crawfish in Arnone’s custom boiling rig, Oyster, Shrimp, and Catfish Po-Boys dressed on New Orleans’ own Leidenheimer French Bread; Crawfish Etouffee; Red Beans, Pork Boudin, Grilled Oysters, Southern Fried Chicken, Pecan Pie, Beignets and other Louisiana regional dishes. Hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, and ice cream will also be available, along with soft drinks and adult beverages.
What The Media Is Saying About Michael Arnone's Crawfish Festival: "If I were making a list of the improbable things I've seen in my 40 years as an arts journalist in New Jersey, I'd have to rank, near the top of it, the way the Crawfish Fest has grown from its humble beginnings to become one of the state's cultural treasures, lovingly embraced by Northerners who may not have known much about Louisiana music and food before it started. I've been to most of these fests since they started in 1989 and have never failed to have a great time." -- Jay Lustig, longtime pop/rock critic for The Star-Ledger (New Jersey's largest daily newspaper) and founder of NJArts.net
