The 10th annual Windy City Smokeout drew thousands of fans Saturday to the Near West Side for another afternoon of smoked meats and country beats, serving up barbecue from 28 pitmasters nationwide and live tunes from Luke Bryan, the Zac Brown Band and others.

Gina and Chuck Rios attended the four-day music and food festival for the first time. The couple, in from Alsip, bought their tickets back in September.

“I’m a rock and roll guy, but this is fun,” Chuck Rios said, “I’m enjoying this and I’m excited for the performances later.”

“I came for Luke Bryan,” Gina Rios said. “We’ve never been to something like this.”

Attending the festival is a part of their “year of firsts,” a goal to try something new or go to an event they haven’t attended. They went to Milwaukee’s Summerfest for the first time last week.

‘We love to try new things, new experiences, new festivals like this,” Gina Rios said.

By early afternoon, they’d already tried the brisket from Salt Lick, a north Texas barbecue spot — and were eyeing ribs, pulled pork and burnt ends from dozens of barbecue stands.

“We’re trying to get a little taste of everything,” Gina Rios said. “Our plan is to get one of each type and split.”

Sophie Rambeaux-Olson, Nick and Paige Gershak enjoyed a bounty: beef cheek elotes, burnt ends and sausage, birria tacos, nachos and shrimp po’ boys.

“I really like the elotes, but I think the tacos are going to be my favorite,” Sophie said.

“The sausages are really good,” Nick Gershak said. “Coming here has become a family tradition for us.”

The Brookfield crew marked their third year attending the festival, and the first time they’ve done back-to-back days of the four-day smorgasbord.

“He likes barbecue and I like country music. So it works out,” said Page Gershak, who was especially excited for Bryan’s performance. “And this time we can pace ourselves and just relax and enjoy.”

Attendees sampled barbecue from all over the country: Texas, Kansas, Connecticut, Tennessee, Los Angeles and Chicago.

That included the Kansas City, Kansas, institution Joe’s Bar-B-Que. Erica Tadda, the director of marketing for Joe’s, said he was enjoying the pitmaster camaraderie.

“I’m just so blown away by the festival, the mix of good food and music is so fun,” Tadda said. “We’re all chatting, sharing food and swapping recipes.”

The “Z-Man” is Joe’s famous sandwich — the restaurant sells 250,000 of them every year. The sandwich is served on a toasted roll with beef brisket that has been smoked for 16 hours, with smoked provolone cheese and onion rings.

“Since it’s our first time here and the 10th anniversary of the Windy City Smokeout, we decided to bring the Z-Man out to a festival for the first time,” Tadda said.

The sandwiches — nearly 1,000 of them — have sold out each day of the festival so far. Many Kansas City natives have stopped by to get a Z-Man or burnt ends for a taste of home, Tadda said.

Leonard Botello, the owner of Truth BBQ, brought his barbecue from Houston to the Smokeout for the fourth year.

“We bring in everything from Houston. The pits, the smoker, the equipment, the wood we use to smoke meats,” Botello said.

One of his favorite parts of coming to the festival is sharing Texas-style barbecue with a new crowd.

“Not everyone will have a chance to come to Texas and try Texas barbecue, so it’s fun to feed those people who might never try it.”

The Smokeout continues Sunday. Tickets start at $59.95.