TVD Live Shots: Extra Innings Festival at Tempe Beach Park, 2/29

TEMPE, AZ | For only the second year, the last weekend of February hosted the Extra Innings Festival in Tempe, AZ. Acting as the second weekend to the Innings Festival, Extra Innings offers fans the unique ability to celebrate baseball and music.

Honoring the start of spring training for Major League Baseball, the festival takes advantage of great weather and half of the professional baseball teams training here. Spring training kicks off during the first weekend and is in full swing by the time Extra Innings rolls around. This coverage will feature day two of the second weekend and, unfortunately, the end of the baseball-themed music experience for now. We have had the opportunity to cover the back to back festivals for years now, and it’s true what they say about time flying when you’re having fun.

The festival is indeed jam-packed with baseball, music, food, and fun. There is something there for everyone, and a very family-friendly event. Extra Innings specifically employs a more country, Americana, folk-inspired lineup, while the first weekend typically rolls out a rock ‘n’ roll event. There’s just something special about listening to country music in the sun during the month of February, effectively kicking off festival season.

The festival is held in Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, AZ. Extra Innings features two stages and only one act plays at a time. This allows fans to either hang out near one stage and enjoy the activities, secure a good spot for the next act, or walk in between stages and see a little bit of everything. On the one side, just beneath Mill/Tempe Bridge, is the headlining stage, Home Plate. Home Plate is right by the main entrance and can be seen from miles away.

Near Home Plate is merch, refreshments, and bleachers to watch the acts. Set up shop on that side of the festival grounds are sponsors like Jersey Mike’s, Espolon Tequila, Ghost Energy Drinks and many others. Just behind the vendors is the baseball themed area, featuring Ryan Dempster, former MLB Pitcher and current podcast host, as well as former professional baseball players. Ryan interviews players as well as artists on the bill that day allowing the fans an intimate ability to interact with the musicians on a smaller stage.

Starting off with the 3:20 time slot on Right Field, Sam Barber is making a name for himself in country music. The TikTok star is everything he is hyped up to be. He sounds exactly like his records live, and is really coming into his own on stage. This is a name to remember in the next few years. He has already begun collaborating with other up and coming artists and we are very excited to see what is in store this year for Sam Barber.

The next slot on that same stage after it alternated with the Home Plate session was Grace Potter. Grace performs with the most energy I have seen in a long time. You could tell by the fans’ reactions that everyone was blown away by Grace and her band. She is funny, she is passionate, she is incredibly talented, she is everything you could hope for when you go to a concert.

Following her set, and arguably the highlight of the day, was Kings of Leon playing second last on Home Plate. The group has firmly solidified themselves as legends of the game and have some of the most recognizable songs of the last two decades. The family band has not stopped rocking since they started, and just continue to keep hitting all the right notes.

I said arguably the highlight of the day, because the contender would be Kacey Musgraves headlining night two and wrapping up the weekend. Kacey is one of the very few artists who I have seen that I would argue actually sounds better live than on record. I am not sure what her recruiting process is, but her bandmates harmonize with her so purely it blends like magic.

Kacey has a personality she is not afraid to let shine in her sets. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in and isn’t afraid of the country music scene not playing some of her songs. Kacey is what is right with the music industry, and she is incredibly talented. She was the most appropriate artist to close out the weekend, and while bittersweet, we will look back very fondly on our festival experiences in late February this year.

GRACE POTTER