By Val Tapia, BADS Contributing Writer
Photos by Fred Kuhlman

I remember getting the word on Innings Fest 2024 back in early November. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the annual two-day festival was now taking place on a Friday and Saturday, as opposed to Saturday and Sunday in previous years.

In short order, it was arguably the best move that the Innings team ever made, because it may have been a factor why the inaugural Extra Innings festival on Fri. March 1 and Sat. March 2 was so well-received.
Let’s face it: more people will attend festivals that take place on Friday moreso than Sunday. Simple as that.

I suppose it also doesn’t hurt to have country superstar Chris Stapleton booked as the debut headliner for this debut festival. Although he only played a 90-minute set, it did feature 20 songs in total Friday night.
I can’t say I follow his music, however, I did hear a little bit of rock, blues and gospel in his songs. He’s not exactly a slouch on guitar either. Overall, I have to say that Stapleton is the real deal. I’m sure the 18,000 or so fans in attendance would concur.

By the way, that number is just an estimate. Regardless, it was still a packed house no matter how you look at it.
Yes, there was also some more baseball players at the Left Field Stage. You had Russ Ortiz and Rollie Fingers at Speed Pitch. Not to mention Eric Karros and Tim Raines at Batting Cage.
Funny enough, one couple I spoke with aid they enjoyed the baseball player roster more than the musical lineup. Hey, everyone’s entitled to an opinion.
It appeared that there were more patrons at Left Field Stage for Extra Innings than there were the previous weekend, which I thought was interesting. Perhaps the word got out on how much people seemed to enjoy “playing ball” during Innings Fest.
I should add that a new ticket option this year, the Centerfield Deck, seemed to be pretty packed. The downside of it was the difficulty of walking through the crowd when heading to the Right Field Stage. It took up a lot of space on the park sidewalk.
It was great to see Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 inductee Sheryl Crow on the bill on Saturday. Decked out in a Daffy Duck t-shirt (with the sleeves cut off), Crow hit the stage with a triple threat of A Change Will Do You Good, If It Makes You Happy, and All I Wanna Do, respectively.
She also played a new song from her upcoming new album Evolution called Do It Again. Glad to see that she’s moving forward and still creating new music.
One disappointment: I was given word that my editor was not allowed to photograph Crow’s set. Apparently, she only permitted two media outlets access. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

On to the Right Field Stage, it was time for Tempe’s own Gin Blossoms. Or as frontman Robin Wilson put it, “We’re your favorite rock band from Tempe!”
Taking the stage to Kool & The Gang’s Get Down On It, it indeed got everybody in the crowd ready for opener Follow You Down, with Lost Horizons as the second song.
Perhaps it’s just my perception, but the crowd didn’t seem to be very responsive during most of their 60-minute set. For a homecoming show, I think they deserved better. That said, Found Out About You and Hey Jealousy obviously went down a storm.
It was cool seeing Wilson and guitarist Jesse Valenzuela chat with Ryan Dempster during Off The Mound. Even though it only lasted 15 minutes, it was great to hear Wilson say they still play their songs live in the original key they were written— over 30 years ago mind you.
I’ll also add this: kudos to the Blossoms for that. With many veteran bands, changing the melody line or singing the songs in a lower key has sadly become the norm in live shows today.
I won’t mince words: I find that “trick”, if you will, to be absolutely unacceptable— on every level imaginable. Glad to see Wilson indirectly calling it out publicly during the interview.
Interestingly, regarding Off The Mound on Saturday, I noticed that it was unusually packed for the live talk show. I was pleasantly surprised, because it’s a pretty cool part of the Innings experience that doesn’t get talked about much in the press.

However, there was a reason it was packed. Earlier in the day, it was apparently rumored that one of the Home Plate Stage acts, Noah Kahan, was going to be interviewed for Off The Mound.
In fact, Dempster took the mic and had to deliver the bad news to Kahan’s fans. He was not going to be on the show.
As a result, some of the audience left, which was unfortunate. They missed the Blossoms interview. But I can understand their disappointment I suppose.

If I had to pick the MVP of Extra Innings, it would have to be blues rocker Kingfish, known as Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on Friday. In short order, this man can play the guitar!
I have no qualms with saying that the late Stevie Ray Vaughan would likely be proud that Kingfish is bringing the blues to a new generation of fans.
Vocally, he’s reminiscent of Robert Cray, at least to my ears. His band was top-notch as well. He was rightly well-received, and given that he’s opened for Buddy Guy, that’s really saying something. Looking forward to seeing what he has up his musical sleeve next time.
Congratulations to the Innings team for hitting another home run with Extra Innings. I think it’ll return next year—and hopefully beyond.