BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Hip-hop and hard-rock fans should find plenty to cheer about at the 2012 Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil.
Rappers Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg,Lupe Fiasco and Childish Gambino are on the lineup for the music and food festival in Birmingham. So are veteran rock bands Jane’s Addiction,Megadeth and The Cult.
Brantley Gilbert and Drake White, two up-and-coming country rockers, are booked at the Boil, set for May 4-5 downtown. Blackberry Smoke, a group of Southern retro-rockers, will be on the bill, as well.
Rounding out the list of 13 acts: The Head and the Heart, a folk-pop group; Futurebirds, a psychedelic country troupe; and Moon Taxi, a jam-rock band.
Gates at the festival will open at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 4, and 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. Although high-profile music acts draw listeners to the Boil’s single stage, foodies also opt for the fresh crawfish plates. Traditionally, the Boil offers up to 10 tons of Louisiana shellfish, complete with trimmings.
The 2012 Boil will take place at its usual location — in a 465,000-square-foot lot near the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, at Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North between 22nd and 24th streets.
Advance ticket prices are $30 for a day pass, $49.50 for a weekend pass. Advance VIP tickets will cost $75 per day, $140 for a weekend pass. On the days of the Boil, ticket prices will bump to $35 daily, $55 for a weekend pass. VIP passes will increase to $85 per day, $150 for the weekend. VIP tickets usually include perks such as free crawfish, access to a multi-tiered viewing platform, separate bathrooms and themed cocktail bars. The full schedule can be seen here: http://www.schaeffercrawfishboil.com/schedule.php
