Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – The sounds of music and the smell of barbecue will soon be returning to downtown Jonesboro as organizers prepare for the 16th annual Downtown Jonesboro BBQ and Music Festival in late September.

The two-day festival will feature live music, barbecue and retail vendors from across the country, as well as kids’ activities. According to festival organizer Tim McCall, anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 people are expected to attend. Admission to the festival is free.

“We want to provide a quality-of-life event for the community to see music that they would probably never get the chance to see. And, like anything else, we want to try to help support our local economy,” McCall said. “We are trying to do something positive for the community and the citizens as well.”

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Friday’s headliner will be JUMP, a Van Halen tribute band. Marybeth Byrd, an Arkansas native who appeared on both “American Idol” and “The Voice,” will serve as the opener that night. Friday’s lineup also includes the Rush tribute band Natural Science.

Saturday’s music lineup will be divided among two stages: Grammy-nominated headliner Spin Doctors will headline the RightFiber stage, with That ’70s Band serving as openers.

On the MolsonCoors Stage, Grammy-nominated North Mississippi Allstars will headline. Other music groups performing during the festival include Greasy Tree, Bluesnado, Dukes of Hoggard, and Bloodhound.

One change to this year’s festival will be the lack of a BBQ competition. Competition space was limited due to ongoing construction nearby, so the decision was made to replace it with a larger Kids Zone, which will feature inflatables and a foam party.

“What we thought we would do this year is do a bigger Kids Zone and bring more people to town and have space that we had used in the past [be] more available for the community to have a good time and fun,” he said.

McCall noted that organizers were still discussing other BBQ and grilling contests, with more opportunities expected at next year’s festival.

“This is a transition year, and there will still be lots of barbecue to feast on at the event,” McCall said.

The festival is set for Sept. 25-26 in downtown Jonesboro. For updates and additional announcements, follow the festival’s Facebook page.

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