Members of Lettuce and Dumpstaphunk will team up for a special late-night show during weekend one of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Heavyweights of the modern jam-funk era, New Orleans’ Dumpstaphunk is the most physical band to sprout of the Crescent City in a long time. Their dueling basses and greasy NOLA stank have created a bold and aggressive style that informs the entire genre; from inside their historic musical city and sprawling out to the Midwest and both coasts, their influence knows no boundaries. Always busting loose with classic performances during Jazz Fest, keyboardist/vocalist/local icon Ivan Neville‘s popular syndicate has over a decade of legendary hometown threauxdowns under their belts. For eight glorious years, Dumpstaphunk was the NOLA heartbeat of the iconic Bear Creek Music and Art Festival at Spirit of Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida, and often shared their raucous stage with various friends in other bands, none more so than Lettuce.

Hailing from the Northeast, the future-funk hip-hop Voltron known as Lettuce is no stranger to the city of New Orleans. Presenting a more Herbie Hancock/Tower of Power styled attack in their earlier years, Lettuce spent many nights soaking up the NOLA gumbo of grooves and incorporating the sounds into their own potent stew. Lettuce has always welcomed the stalwarts of the New Orleans funk game like Dumpstaphunk to their stage, both in the city of New Orleans and in New York, and as far away as the legendary Bear Creek, too.

Dr. Klaw – “Just Kissed My Baby” – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks – 5/1/10

[Video: TheFunkItBlog]

It’s no secret that Lettuce holds Crescent City royalty like The Meters in the highest possible esteem, and have invited the likes of George Porter Jr. and Cyril Neville to their largest stage of the year, as the dynamic NOLA pair appeared at 2017’s RAGE ROCKS at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Lettuce has a long and colorful relationship with both Ivan and Ian Neville, as the keyboardist/vocalist sat in with Lettuce at their very first gig at Tipitina’s back in 2003. Ian Neville is the best kept secret in his legendary family, and has stepped in on guitar on a variety of occasions, including a Royal Family Ball late night at the Howlin’ Wolf and a special performance at Bear Creek 2009.

Dumpstaphunk bassist/vocalist Nick Daniels III is among Lettuce’s favorite musicians, period. His patented high vocal register and thunder-crunk bass work are THE key component to the Lettuce/Dumpsta side project that bears his nickname, Dr. Klaw. There is a great deal of reciprocal respect between the Dumpsta and LETT camps, and it’s clear that Lettuce is honored that members of their favorite current New Orleans group are going to host an authentic Jazz Fest late night collab.

Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, along with bassist Nick Daniels III are teaming up with Adam Deitch, Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, Ryan Zoidis, and Eric “Benny” Bloom to form Lett Us In The Dumpsta on Sunday, April 28th at 2:00 a.m. at the raging Frenchmen Street club, The Maison.

In addition to a bombastic collection of videos that capture some of the most memorable Dumpsta/LETT collaborations of the past decade, L4LM’s B.Getz sought comments from members of each band on the forthcoming late night rage. Thoughts from Dumpsta’s Ian Neville and Lettuce’s Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff,  as well as some comments from Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival producer Paul Levine. Paul was instrumental in bringing these two titanic squads together for some of the finest collaborations in that festival’s beautifully funky history, and planting the seeds for continued glory such as what is set to go down at Maison in NOLA on April 28th.

Dumpstaphunk DumpstaJam – Bear Creek Music Festival (Part 1) – 11/12/11

Dumpstaphunk DumpstaJam – Bear Creek Music Festival (Part 2) – 11/12/11

[Videos: TheFunkItBlog]

Ian Neville:

The way I remember connecting with those guys is that I met Kraz first. Soulive was opening for the Funky Meters, this is late 90’s maybe. That was my intro to that camp. When they had started their Royal Fam sh*t with their whole crew and all that,  I saw how they got down and that sh*t blew me away. Soulive blew me away first. Then (through Soulive) I met (Adam) Deitch and ZWAD (Ryan Zoidis, Lettuce sax) and Sam K. (Kinninger, ex-Lettuce sax). Soon after Nigel (Hall) came in the mix with both bands, and over the years their crew just kept adding and building with seriously talented cats. I just started paying attention to what they were doing.

My favorite comparative dynamic between us, the New Orleans guys, and those guys in Lettuce is how they absorbed things, those guys really did their homework about the predecessors and originators of the music that we all dug. Whether it be their recording styles, or their show tendencies, it was just a total comprehensive dig into that sh*t, to absorb all the good elements of the music we all enjoyed. That was just a cool similar track or dynamic, whatever you want to call it, that we shared. We all had the same influences, coming from two completely different worlds, sources, and our absorption styles were different. I feel like the NY camp, the Lettuce guys, there was something always a little more crisp about how they go about their sh*t — I don’t mean that to slight any of our New Orleans cats, because it’s the exact opposite on our end. We had the dirt, we had the street, we had that organic absorption of the city and our culture, what we were living.  See, they knew how to take their interest and love for similar music, but they absorbed it in a completely different way, and then they reinterpreted it. Those comparisons, those similarities and differences, are why we all have fun playing music together now.

Bear Creek Allstars, feat. George Porter w/ members of Dumpstaphunk & Lettuce – 5/1/13

[Videos: Chris Rogers]

Bear Creek Allstars – “Go To The Mardi Gras” – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks – 5/1/13

[Videos: TheFunkItBlog]

Bear Creek Allstars – 11/16/2013

[Videos: Funkatopia]

Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff:

Jazz Fest is something special. To me, it’s one of the few music festivals in this country that has tried to retain the original culture of America, the culture of blues, of jazz, you know, people music. I just hope that in some way, Lettuce has gotten into the hearts of some of the people from New Orleans. I’m talking about the musicians who have built that place. I hope that they view us as a band who is trying to pay respect to the city, to all of the artists who came before us, all the NOLA artists that we love so much. For us, it’s always been about putting them first, and I hope they feel that from us down there. ‘Cause obviously we love New Orleans! We love the culture, we love the city, we love the art, we love music, we love the food, we love Jazz Fest. We’ve been going down there for a long time. Some of the people from NOLA are like family to us at this point. This Jazz Fest I’ll be playing with Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, Nick Daniels III, and others. It is the moments onstage playing with those musical idols and our musical family, it’s joy, fear, nervousness, awe, and then you wipe all that away and you just have fun and funk out!

Dr. Klaw with Cyril Neville 4/27/16 New Orleans, LA @ Fiya Fest at Mardi Gras World

[Video: TheFunkItBlog]

Adam Deitch, Nigel & Tony Hall, Viveca Hawkins, Ian & Ivan Neville MISS YOU 11/26/16 SF BOOM BOOM

[Video: Peter Lull]

Paul Levine:

When we started Bear Creek, obviously funk music and the New Orleans Jazz Fest ethos were deeply at the heart of it, that was the foundation that we built the whole show upon. Dumpstaphunk represented the nastiest & greasiest funk from the Crescent City, while Lettuce repped the brash & edgy Northeastern swag, both of their unique styles of funk were at the core of Bear Creek. Their individual band performances at the festival were legendary. But when Dumpsta and Lettuce guys would share the stage together, be it the Dumpsta Jam, Dr. Klaw, later years in NOLA the Bear Creek All-Stars show or even a Royal Family Ball, what happened on those stages was truly magic. These bands have a certain chemistry that works on special level, and it is something that oozes New Orleans.

Tickets to Lett Us In The Dumpsta at The Maison are currently on sale on Eventbrite.

(Art by Kellin Townsend – @kellintownsend)

Date: Sunday, April 28th, 2019 (technically early AM April 29th)
Artist: Live For Live Music Presents: Lett Us In The Dumpsta featuring Ivan Neville, Ian Neville & Nick Daniels of Dumpstaphunk + Adam Deitch, Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, Ryan Zoidis & Eric “Benny” Bloom of Lettuce
Venue: The Maison – 508 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116
Tickets: $35 Advance / $40 Day Of Show //// VIP  $60 Advance / $65 Day Of Show (VIP includes expedited entry, dedicated elevated VIP area VIP bar & more)
Time: Doors –  2:00 AM

The musical heritage of New Orleans will be on full display during the 50th-anniversary edition of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this spring. In addition to the official festivities on the fairgrounds, musicians from New Orleans and beyond will deliver a number of exciting nighttime shows during the week-and-change encompassed by Jazz Fest.

Jazz Fest 2019 After Dark: L4LM Top Picks

Check out a list of Live For Live Music‘s various night shows during Jazz Fest below. For more information, or to grab your tickets today before they’re all gone, head here.