From The Crowd: Innings Fest

Mar 9

Mar 9 From The Crowd: Innings Fest

Music and baseball go hand-in-hand, from walk-up songs to the iconic Take Me Out to the Ball Game. We were excited to kick off our 2020 festival season at the baseball-themed Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona. With spring training in full swing across the Phoenix-area, Innings brought fans of all teams together for two days of music in Tempe Beach Park. Now in its third year, Innings Festival was headlined by Dave Matthews Band and Weezer, attracting a more mature and relaxed crowd to the shores of Tempe Town Lake.

Nashville-based Boy Named Banjo kicked off the fest on a sunny Saturday afternoon with an energetic mix of bluegrass and folk. Other Saturday highlights included Strand of Oaks, who brought their raw rock sound and the blues stylings of ZZ Ward. As day turned to night, the festival took a psychedelic turn, with Dr. Dog playing an eclectic mix from their deep catalogue. They were followed by Portugal. The Man, whose trippy visuals paired perfectly with the setting Arizona sun. Crowds relaxed on a small hill overlooking the stage as Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit played a laidback set of country songs, including hits from his two most recent albums, both of which reached #1 on the country charts. Dave Matthews Band closed Saturday night with a 2.5-hour set featuring plenty of extended jam sessions.

Sunday featured Pedro the Lion, led by Phoenix-native David Bazan. Bazan explained that 2019’s Phoenix, the band’s first album since 2004, was an ode to the city. Their set consisted primarily of songs from the critically-acclaimed album. The Struts had perhaps the most energetic set of the weekend, as their glam rock cut through the desert air. O.A.R. kept the energy going with their hits, including the crowd favorite “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker.” Rainbow Kitten Surprise played a dazzling set, relying heavily on their 2018 album How to: Friend, Love, Freefall.

The only low point of the weekend came during Death Cab for Cutie’s set. The indie legends played four songs as frontman Benjamin Gibbard battled vocal strain, the result of a terrible case of the flu that also caused him to postpone a solo show in San Francisco two days prior. After a valiant effort, Gibbard apologized to the crowd for being unable to continue the show. Bassist Nick Harmer promised to return to Arizona as soon as possible.

Any sadness from the shortened Death Cab for Cutie set was quickly relieved when Sunday headliners and festival closers Weezer took the stage. The Rivers Cuomo-led group reached far back into their discography, playing seven songs from their 1994 debut album. They also played an eclectic mix of covers, from Toto’s Africa to Nirvana’s Lithium and Black Sabbath’s Paranoid.

In addition to the two stages for music, aptly named Home Plate and Right Field, a smaller third stage (Left Field) was home to Off The Mound with Ryan Dempster, a late-night style talk show hosted by former the Chicago Cubs pitcher. Dempster hosted four shows during the festival, each featuring former players, including Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman and Jim Thome. Between shows, fans could participate in other baseball activities like batting cages, speed pitch, game-saving catch and a home run derby VR experience.

Overall, we loved the chill vibes Innings Festival provided. It’s the kind of festival where you could feel just as content relaxing in the grass as you could dancing near the front of the stage. It provided the perfect weekend escape, and with two stages for music, we never had to worry about overlapping sets.