Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd highlights RAGBRAI overnight stop in Des Moines

Jay Stahl, Des Moines Register
Updated ·2 min read
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Lynyrd Skynyrd headlines RAGBRAI with a Des Moines concert at Water Works Park.
Lynyrd Skynyrd headlines RAGBRAI with a Des Moines concert at Water Works Park.

Lynyrd Skynyrd of “Sweet Home Alabama” fame is coming to Iowa as part of the RAGBRAI Concert Series during the ride’s Des Moines stop.

With hits like “Free Bird, “Simple Man,” “Gimme Three Steps” and “Tuesday’s Gone,” the rockers will bring a slice of their famous Southern sound to audiences on Wednesday, July 26.

The overnight in Des Moines, the largest city in Iowa, will be the most-anticipated day of the ride. Riders will celebrate a potential successful attempt of a Guinness Book of World Records achievement as they ride from Ames to Des Moines. RAGBRAI officials hope to break the record for the largest single-day “parade of bicycles:” 48,615, set in 2000, when riders biked an 18.2-mile circuit around Udine, Italy.

The concert caps the the shortest ride on the RAGBRAI route, just 50 miles from Ames to Des Moines.

Lynyrd Skynyrd played the Iowa State Fair in 1996 with Bad Company and Veterans Memorial Auditorium in 1976, capping off the show with "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird."

The last time RAGBRAI came to Des Moines back in 2013, an estimated 32,000 people rode from Perry to Des Moines. RAGBRAI visited the Des Moines metro in 2019, with an estimated 40,000 riders on the road from Winterset to Indianola.

RAGBRAI celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer with a scenic tour of Iowa that pays homage to the original bike ride in 1973. It starts in Sioux City on July 23, winding through Storm Lake, Carroll, Ames, Des Moines, Tama-Toledo., Coralville and Davenport on July 29.

Entertainment in 2023 includes:

  • The ’80s rock band Spin Doctors in Sioux City.

  • The ’80s tribute band the Spazmatics in Storm Lake.

  • The Pork Tornados, a popular cover band, in Carroll.

  • Hairball, a rock tribute band, in Ames.

  • Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd in Des Moines.

  • ’70s rock band Foghat in Tama-Toledo

  • Alt-rockers Bush with all-girl band Plush in Coralville.

More RAGBRAI news

Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at jstahl@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Lynyrd Skynyrd performs in Des Moines for RAGBRAI 2023