A winter carnival of sorts will heat things up on Saturday nights and Fat Tuesday in downtown Joliet when the Big Lagniappe returns for a residency at Chicago Street Pub.
While Carnival — the season of eating, drinking and being merry before observing Lent — is underway in New Orleans, the sounds of Mardi Gras City will be delivered here by the nine-piece ensemble in four free shows starting Jan. 27.
“It’s upbeat music to get people out for a good time when it’s kind of a dead time of the year,” founding member Kevin Krauss said. “We try to make each night a little different with guest artists and changing set lists.”
Based in Joliet and formed less than two years ago as an offshoot of another band, the Big Lagniappe — pronounced “lan yap” and meaning a little something extra — plays traditional New Orleans songs and originals.
“Their sound, stage presence and swagger” combine to make the Big Lagniappe a standout act, said Mike Trizna, the owner of Chicago Street Pub who has traveled to New Orleans more than once and attended multiple Preservation Hall Jazz Band concerts.
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“If I didn’t know Kevin and the rest of the band, I would swear that every time I heard them I was standing in the middle of Bourbon Street,” Trizna said. “They don’t just act authentic. They are truly the real deal.”
With Krauss on keyboards and vocals, the band also features fellow Joliet residents Chris Foray on bass, Josh Nestor on guitar, Jeff Sledge on drums, Ellis Wright on saxophone, Patrick Wright on trumpet, David Francis on trumpet and Will Cooper on trombone, with Orland Park resident Bridget Cavanaugh on vocals.
That’s big roll call for the small stage at Chicago Street Pub.
“That’s the magic of it all,” Krauss said with a laugh. “We scale down the drum kit a bit and just squeeze in.”
Krauss, a Tinley Park native who has lived in Joliet for 15 years, has hosted the pub’s monthly open jam since 2009. And he works the door. The pub has become a springboard for connecting with other like-minded musicians for one-time gigs to full-blown bands.
“I’m always there with the bands,” Krauss said. “The Triznas have been very supportive of the music scene. I wouldn’t know half the people I know without them providing a focus on original and traditional music.”
A 1994 graduate of Lincoln-Way Central High School where he played on the drumline, Krauss switched to piano in order to better write songs. He played in Gowhead, an eclectic Frank Zappa-inspired band, in the ’90s. Then, Krauss joined the Regressors, a roots rock/bluegrass group that included the Big Lagniappe’s Foray, a longtime fan of Gowhead, and Sledge, who Krauss knew from school.
After a decade or so of playing the pub and elsewhere, the Regressors beefed up its 2016 set at Hopstring Fest — a multiple-stage showcase of original artists held in Joliet — by adding horn players Krauss knew through the pub.
“Then what started solidifying the Big Lagniappe was being asked to play New Orleans North in 2016,” Krauss said of the large outdoor festival sponsored by the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “That was kind of an easy kickstart.”
The Regressors ended, and the Big Lagniappe was born with the addition of horns — borrowing the Wrights (who are not related) and Cooper from their reggae-ska band the Selectones, and nabbing Francis, a local studio engineer.
“Josh our guitarist has a metal background, but that’s not his passion,” said Krauss, whose full-time job is with Trinity Services as a day program manager. “He started with me at open mics a few years ago. He just kept showing up with his amp and guitar so I thought I’d give him a shot in a big band.”
Joining Krauss on vocals is Cavanaugh, a former member of Leadfoot, and occasionally local singer Allison Flood fills in.
In 2017, the Big Lagniappe drew decent crowds for its inaugural Mardi Gras residency at Chicago Street Pub and played a Halloween show there dressed as Muppets.
“Everyone made their own costume and none of us saw each other before we got there,” Krauss said. “Last year, we also gigged hard all summer.”
Another highlight of 2017 was when Krauss, Foray, Ellis Wright and local drummer Bret Figura backed up renowned songwriter and guitarist Paul Sanchez, formerly of the New Orleans band Cowboy Mouth, at the Maple Tree Inn in Blue Island.
“I’ve always liked the Meters, Dr. John and brass bands,” Krauss said of the NOLA sound. “It’s just fun party music, and there’s not a lot of people playing it in our area, but people are receptive to it.”
Vickie Snow Jurkowski is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
The Big Lagniappe’s Mardi Gras Residency
When: 8 p.m. to midnightJan. 27, Feb. 3 and 10; and 7 p.m. Feb. 13
Where: Chicago Street Pub, 75 N. Chicago St. in Joliet
Admission: Free
Information: Facebook, chicagost.com
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or 815-727-7171Etc.: Also performing Feb. 9 at Brauerhouse in Lombard and March 26 at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet and headlining June 8 at New Orleans North festival in Joliet.