With its second year now in the books, the Extra Innings festival continued its focus on folk-based and country musicians for the most part.
On the Home Plate stage, one could rightly argue that Jason Scott & the High Heat were just as much a straight-ahead rock and roll band as much as country. With songs like new single Yard Work as well as High Country and Me and the Bottle, they really wouldn’t be out of place on rock radio. Or at least, open minded rock radio.
Dare I say it, maybe even country radio wouldn’t play them because of that. Which, frankly, is a crying shame.
“Personally, I call our type of music high heat”, said frontman Jason Scott shortly after their 45-minute Extra Innings set on Feb. 28. “We really do love all kinds of music, and because of that, I don’t think we can be put in any kind of box”, Scott said.
One thing for sure, the band is very proud of their upcoming major-label debut album (and second overall) American Grin, which hits the streets on March 28.
Certainly, the High Heat have their influences. To my ears, I hear a little Steve Earle & the Dukes, a little bit of The Jayhawks, and even a little Tom Petty and John Mellancamp.
Of course, that’s a compliment. But make no mistake, this band definitely has the talent to go far, and their music can indeed be judged on its own merits.
One cool thing in the set was their rendition of, appropriately enough, John Fogerty’s Centerfield. In point of fact, they were the second band of the two Innings weekends to play the all-time classic song. In case you were wondering, it was The Killers who opened their set with it the previous weekend.
2025 looks to be a great year for the High Heat. After Extra Innings, the band is looking forward to playing select shows with none other than Dwight Yoakam. Not to mention a spot on the iconic Austin City Limits stage in May.
With any luck, they’ll be back in Arizona again later this year. I wish them all the best with the new album and tour.
I think it’s fair to say that the attendance for Extra Innings was a little less than Innings the previous weekend. While the official numbers were not available at press time, I would say that both nights (Feb. 28 and Mar. 1, respectively) pulled in about 12 or 13,000 per night. Be that as it may, that’s not a bad turnout by any means.
Newcomer Megan Moroney certainly had her share of fans on Friday night. To her credit, she played a 15-song set during her hour-long set.
Songs like show opener Lucky and I’m Not Pretty are very reminiscent of Shania Twain or Carrie Underwood. I noticed a lot of young fans sporting her shirts and hoodies. Plenty of those fans screamed at the top of their lungs for Maroney, seemingly singing every word to her songs.
By the time her set concluded with Am I Okay?, she definitely won the crowd over.
On Saturday (3/1), wow, was the wind and dust terrible or what? Particularly at the Left Field stage, where staff had to hose down the field to prevent as much dust as possible.
It was difficult even sitting through Off The Mound this time. Unfortunately, I only got to see a portion of host Ryan Dempster’s brief chat with Grace Potter because the dust was unbearable in the afternoon.
Speaking of Potter, she put on quite the show during her 1-hour set. For the most part, she played songs from her former band Grace Potter & The Nocturnals such as opening song Medicine, Treat Me Right, and Nothing But The Water.
At times, her music reminded me of a cross between Pat Benatar and Melissa Etheridge. Her band was exceptional as well.
When it comes to the final two artists at Extra Innings who closed the Right Field and Home Plate stages Saturday night, they certainly deserved to.
First, Maren Morris. She was definitely a breath of fresh air musically. Frankly, I’m not even sure I’d call her “country” in the strictest sense. There was plenty of R&B influence to her songs as well. It was a wonderful hybrid that made Morris’ songs unique.
With a 15-song set, there were plenty of fan favorites like opener Girl, the gospel tinged My Church, and a pretty well-received cover of Billy Idol’s 1981 version of Dancing With Myself.
In some ways, Morris interpreted it the way someone like Belinda Carlisle would have in the early 90s. Overall, Morris has a great voice, great stage presence, and doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously. She also had the biggest crowd out of any of the bands on the Right Field stage. Rightly so I might add.
Speaking of a great voice and great stage presence, Kacey Musgraves is indeed the real deal. Unfortunately, she didn’t play the 90-minute set that she was (presumably) contracted to play.
I won’t mince words. The fans only got a paltry 80-minute set— which is absolutely unacceptable from every conceivable angle. In short order, I have a real problem with that as a journalist and a music fan.
Having said that, at least she played an 18-song set. Her songs are short for the most part. Musgraves opened her set with Cardinal and by and large stuck to music from her latest album, 2024’s Deeper Well and 2018’s Golden Hour.
Songs like Jade Green and Lonely Millionaire, and Deeper Well really got the crowd on its feet. Not only does Musgraves have rock star written all over her, she comes across as down-to-earth to her fans of all ages. At times, she’s even a little self-deprecating.
Of course, the crowd went crazy when Musgraves confessed to feeling “a little horny” being back in Arizona. I’ll concede that I got pretty excited after hearing that. There, I said it! But that’s another topic altogether.
Thinking back, Musgraves’ music reminds me of a cross between Jewel, Sheryl Crow, and Loretta Lynn all rolled into one. Frankly, her music could arguably be played on active alternative rock stations if it was marketed properly.
During a cover of Brooks & Dunn’s Neon Moon, the road crew released several beach balls into the crowd. For the first time, I even got to hit a few several times for the last three songs of the night.
In closing, both Morris and Musgraves deserved to close Extra Innings. There wasn’t a better choice to end the second edition of a festival that will only get bigger I’m sure.
The final verdict? Four out of five stars.
Until next year good readers!
