How to Rock Rock'n Ribs

From the Friday night preview to the GO Music Awards, here's what you need to know for a sloppy, sensational weekend.

Warm weather is for barbecuing, and there’s hardly a better way to welcome barbecue season than to join the throng outside Bass Pro Shops and eat (read: eat way more than your fill) of the smoky, tender, juicy, slow-cooked goodness at this year’s Rock’n Ribs festival. Every year the fundraiser’s barbecue teams and a crowd of barbecue devourers fill the Bass Pro Shops parking lot to raise money for local children’s charities. What do you need to know to make the most of the weekend?

Get a Preview

Only grown-ups (21 and older) get to come to the Friday night V.I.P. party, where barbecue teams will enter margarita and side-dish contests. Bands on the mainstage are Steve Smith and the Sneakers, followed by M-Dock. So if you know a vendor, sponsor, anyone who might be a V.I.P., see if you can’t squirrel your way in to Friday night’s shindig. It’s seriously off the hook.

Have a Day of Fun

But there are plenty of family-friendly activities as well, starting with the food. Bring the kids on Saturday afternoon, when you can roam the booths and taste chicken, ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket. Show a little love for your favorites in the People’s Choice Awards. Adding a little action to a day of good eats is a gyroscope ride (maybe an activity to take part in before you go all out on the beef brisket). Visit rocknribs.com for the full schedule of events.

Drink up

Rock’n Ribs is essentially a family event, but there sure is a lot of beer there, too. The best place to knock back a plastic cup-o-suds is the aforementioned V.I.P. party; the next best time is all day Saturday (we hear they sold more Saturday beer than ever last year, something the GO Music Awards takes neither credit nor blame for). And remember: Be nice to your pourers. These are volunteers, not professional tap-jockeys. If your beer has too much head, just enjoy and come back for more.

Be a winner! (Or at least eat with them)

If you don’t mind paying $50 per ticket, and a sit-down dinner sounds good after a day on your feet at Rock’n Ribs, the 417 Winners Dinner (sponsored by our big sis magazine) in a private tent at Bass Pro Shops might be just your style. How nice can a meal inside a tent be? Pretty nice! There’s plenty of wine from Gnarly Head Wines and beer from Wil Fischer, plus a meal of barbecue from last year’s winners supplemented by sides and dessert from Hemingway’s Blue Water Grill. Keep an eye out for a visiting brewmaster courtesy of Wil Fischer—we were there a couple of years ago, and it really is amazing how you can pair different beers with different kinds of meat. The 417 Winners Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m.; just enough time to change after the GO Music Awards wrap up around 6 p.m.

...And Now For the Main Event!

We have one year of GO Music Awards under out belt, but perhaps you don’t. To help you rock to the max (wasn’t that an ’80s Pepsi slogan?), we compiled a timeline of how our perfect day as a GMA fan would go.

Night before: Brush up on the bands that will be performing at springfieldgo.com. Memorize the band members so you can scream their names from the crowd.

Day of 9 a.m.: Wake up and start hydrating. If it’s as hot as last year was, you’re going to need the fluids. And if the concession trucks sell as much beer during the GMAs as we heard they did last year, you’ll definitely need the fluids.

11 a.m.: Head on out to Rock’n Ribs. There may not be barbecue yet, but the smell will be in the air, and all the sponsors’ tents will be open.

11:30 a.m.: Stake out your spot in the big tent, where the GO Music Awards will be held. If you want a seat, grab one; if you don’t want a seat, stand as close to the stage as you can.

12:30 p.m.: Throw your arms in the air as our first band, Hotbox, takes the stage.

1 p.m.: Go grab a drink and some stellar barbecue. Bonus points if you hit more than three stands and don’t lose your seat.

1:30 p.m.: Come back to the tent, enjoy the talents of Trash Angels.

2 p.m.: Hit the port-a-potty before things get too incredibly rank, grab another brew, more barbecue.

2:30 p.m.: 2007 GMA performer McGill is on stage. Welcome them back with lots of head-banging.

3 p.m.: The music awards take a breather for an hour. So should you. Spend an hour dozing in your car.

4 p.m.: Our final two bands begin with Sweetwater Abilene. You don’t want to miss these guys.

4:30 p.m.: The shadows are starting to creep. Get another round of drinks and make sure your votes are cast for the Peoples’ Choice awards.

5 p.m.: Enjoy our final band, The Verbs.

5:30 p.m.: The winner of the 2008 Ozarks Air Guitar Championship, who will be crowned the night before at The Outland Ballroom, will perform live at Rock’n Ribs—a treat not to be missed. Then, emcee Scott Garrett of Q102 will announce the winners of the 2008 GO Music Awards, including all eight categories decided in an online vote by you, the GO reader.

6 p.m.: If you’re not all rocked out, enjoy music from The Unmistaken and The Bluesmen, or clean up a bit and hit the 417 Winners Dinner.