Submitted photo Fuel will be the headliner for the final night of the Ribs-N-Rock Festival at DeBartolo Commons at Southern Park Mall in Boardman.

Meat and music are on the menu this weekend at DeBartolo Commons for the Ribs-N-Rock Festival.

After expanding to four days in 2024, the event is back to three days, running today through Saturday.

“We just weren’t able to get an act for Sunday that was worth it,” promoter Corey Ward said. “Some years you’re able to and then some years you’re not.”

Chris Higbee, who headlined the final day last year, will be the opening night headliner this year, and The Clarks, which had been the Thursday night band for several years, will perform on Friday.

“For years people have been saying, ‘I love The Clarks. Is it possible to get them on a Friday?'” Ward said. “Chris wasn’t available on Sunday this year, so we just put Chris on Thursday and then put The Clarks on Friday.”

While popular in the Mahoning Valley, The Clarks have a huge following in its native Pittsburgh, and Ward said he hopes the Friday booking lures more of its western Pennsylvania fanbase to Boardman.

Both The Clarks and Higbee are proven local draws.

“Both have an excellent following,” Ward said. “Their fan base is loyal, and in return, the artists are loyal to them, and it’s a very rare combination. Especially in western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio, people just love those two bands.”

The music lineup got a bigger disruption less than two months ago when Scott Stapp canceled all his solo tour dates, including Ribs-N-Rock on Saturday. Stapp drew the festival’s biggest crowd ever, and following a successful Creed reunion tour in 2024, expectations were high for his return.

“Yes, it was very disappointing,” Ward said. “When I got the call, we were 45 days out from the show. By luck and by chance, Fuel was coming from Indiana, so we were able to lock them up pretty quickly, so we were very lucky for that.

“They did a phenomenal job for us in 2023, and that was probably our second best Ribs-N-Rock Festival we’ve ever had. People know their songs, and it was a good fit and a quick fix as a replacement for Scott.”

Fuel’s first two albums, “Sunburn” in 1998 and “Something Like Human” in 2000, each sold more than a million copies and included such alternative and rock radio hits as “Hemorrhage (In My Hands),” “Shimmer,” “Innocent,” “Bittersweet,” “Bad Day” and “Falls on Me.”

Local and regional acts also will be featured with Broken Reins and Candace Campana today; Rajma, No Funk No Justice and Pluto in Retrograde on Friday; and AC & the Heat, The Huckin’ Fillbillys and Turbo Lovers on Saturday.

Different factors go into picking the opening acts.

“No. 1, if you have a following,” Ward said. “No. 2, we love covers. People relate to covers a lot better, especially for the festival … If you’re out playing a lot, we will notice you. The Huckin’ Fillbillys have always been a mainstay for us. Candace Campana is now on our radar, and she’s playing with us as well.”

For the food lineup, this year’s rib vendors will include Carolina Rib King from South Carolina, Porky Chicks from Arkansas, Off the Bone BBQ from Alabama and Cowboys Barbecue and Rib Company of Texas.

Carolina Rib King has been participating in local rib fests dating back to the Mahoning Valley Rib Burn-Off in Niles. Off the Bone and Cowboys were rib vendors last year as well, and Porky Chicks is making its first appearance.

“We brought Cowboys in last year and they did phenomenally well,” Ward said. “You like to stick with vendors that have done this before, but you also want to bring in some new people.”

To go along with the barbecue, the festival also will include a variety of traditional fair food options.

If you go ...

WHAT: Ribs-N-Rock Festival

WHEN: Noon to 11 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday

WHERE: DeBartolo Commons at Southern Park Mall, 7401 Market St., Boardman

HOW MUCH: $7 after 3 p.m. today and $10 after 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Entertainment schedule

TODAY

4:30 p.m. — Candace Campana

6 p.m. — Broken Reins

8 p.m. — Chris Higbee

FRIDAY

5 p.m. — Pluto in Retrograde

6 p.m — No Funk No Justice

7:30 p.m. — Rajma

9 p.m. — The Clarks

SATURDAY

5 p.m. — Turbo Lovers

6 p.m. — The Huckin’ Fillbillys

7:30 p.m. — AC & the Heat

9 p.m. — Fuel