I'm not sure which part sounded so tempting, the beer? hearing the North American Bands compete? or the enticement of Little Rock? Perhaps the whole bundle together.
Not sure how to convince your committee, perhaps you could hitch with Grimethorpe (they're playing our gala concert, that's why I excluded them from the offer, it wasn't to be mean.) or I understand there is a Norwegian band coming to compete, you could pop over there and ride with them.
The contest organizers tell us that Delta is offering 10% discounted airfares for the event, so see it's getting more feasible all of the time!