THROUGH THE LENS: Two Baseball-Themed Roots Music Festivals Arrive Just in Time for Spring Training

Which came first, baseball or roots music? While that may be somewhat of a trick question, in this week’s column we get the best of both worlds: a report from two roots music festivals in Arizona just as Major League Baseball’s spring training kicks off. 

The previous five editions of the Innings Festival were so popular that this year the organizer, C3 Presents (Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Bonnaroo, and more) added another festival on the following weekend, appropriately named Extra Innings. Both take place at the Tempe Beach Park in Tempe, Arizona.

Just as ball players begin to get outside and shake off the cobwebs, roots music fans are moving into the season across the country when they can once again hear their favorite musicians in the glorious sunshine.

We were fortunate to have longtime ND photographer and former ND photo editor C. Elliott on the scene for both weekends of music in Tempe.

Innings & Extra Innings Festivals by C. Elliott 

Innings (Feb. 23-24 this year) and Extra Innings (March 1-2) are held during the first two weekends of Major League Baseball’s Cactus League spring training. With clear skies and temperatures in the mid to high 70s, the weather did its part in providing near-perfect conditions to begin my festival season.

As evidenced by the numerous ball caps and jerseys, many of the fests’ performers — be they indie rockers, funksters or pure roots musicians — are also baseball fans. Combining those two interests results in a laid-back, family-and-friends vibe. Many folks spread their blankets out early in the day to have a place to hang out as well as to secure a spot to see their favorite bands. Despite a certain amount of dust and crowds of over 20,000 folks a day, the grounds were kept clean and were spotless each morning.

Now with two entrances, starting the festival days was easier than in past years. Once inside the park, music fans who’d worked up a hunger were treated to the varied cuisine offered by local restaurants. Payment via credit card or PayPal could be linked to your festival wristband, just scan and go, easy peasy. I’d be surprised if this does not become the norm everywhere in a few years.

There are only two stages, Home Plate and Right Field, that are quite some distance apart. On the positive side, there is no sound bleed, but if you wanted to catch every performer there was a lot of hoofing back and forth. Fortunately, the sets were timed with breaks long enough for people to get from one stage to another.

The Left Field section was where baseball legends such as Ryan Dempster, Matt Kemp, Louis Gonzalez, Bret Saberhagen, and Rollie Fingers made appearances during the festivals. Fans could also step into the batter’s box and take a few swings, throw a pitch and see its speed displayed via a radar gun, or even dive onto a field of foam as if they’d made the game-saving catch.

While I’ll let the photos below speak for themselves, I was delighted to see Red Hot Chili Peppers (with John Frusciante) and Macklemore, both for the first time, and Hozier, who closed out the first weekend. The Extra Innings Festival had a more rootsy lineup, featuring Larkin Poe, Noah Kahan, Elle King, Charley Crockett, Turnpike Troubadours, and Chris Stapleton. The Dave Matthews Band closed out the second weekend as only they can do.

As always, the C3 Presents crew and staff were professional, informative, kind, and helpful. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have planned for 2025.

Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.