Well, good readers! We’re approaching that time of year again when the significantly popular Innings Festival returns to downtown Tempe on Fri. Feb. 20th, Sat. Feb. 21st and Sun. Feb. 22nd at Tempe Beach & Arts Park.
By the way, yes, the last date above is not a typo. It turns out that Innings Fest will be a three-day event for the first time since the inaugural 2018 edition of the long running festival. And as always, it coincides with Cactus League spring training that commences Valley-wide simultaneously.
Word on the street suggests that the 2026 iteration of Innings Fest will be another home run…pardon the pun… for the thousands who will be descending on Tempe for music, baseball and plenty of food as well.
Kicking things off on Friday. 2/20 will be none other than headliner Mumford & Sons on the Home Plate stage. They also have a new album scheduled for release the same day called Prizefighter. It’ll be their sixth studio album, for those keeping track.
Other artists taking over the Home Plate stage will be Goo Goo Dolls, Grouplove, Marcy Playground and Tyler Ballgame, respectively.
On the Right Field stage will be headliner Myles Smith, along with Peach Pit, OK Go, Congress The Band and Fat, Evil Children as well.
Not to be forgotten, yes, there’s also the Left Field stage. That’s where all the baseball-themed activities take place, as well as where all the various “pop-up” stores will be. My favorite, you might ask? I’d have to say Zia Records.
At this point, you can’t have an Innings Fest without its “late-night” talk show equivalent “Off The Mound” with host Ryan Dempster. That’s when Dempster interviews some of the artists on the day’s bill. On the same stage, Major League Network on-air analyst Jake Peavy will host an “All-Star Jam”.
As far as baseball activities, at the “Speed Pitch” area this year will be former AZ. Diamondback Dontrelle Willis and ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza. At the Batting Cage you’ll find former San Francisco Giant Brandon Crawford and the aforementioned Jake Peavy.
\*\*At press time, there are still 1-day general admission tickets available for Fri 2/20.
Saturday. February. 21st will likely be pretty packed most of the day with headliner Twenty One Pilots. Also, on the Home Plate stage you’ll see Cage The Elephant, The Fray, Vertical Horizon and Catie Turner.
Head over to the Right Field stage and you’ll find headliner Lord Huron, along with Dashboard Confessional, Silversun Pickups, Deer Tick and The Backfires.
Slightly off topic: I suppose one could consider the performances of Dashboard Confessional and The Fray as a “warmup”, if you will, for their upcoming Summer of Light tour. By the way, yes, it’ll be heading to Phoenix on Monday. July 27th at Arizona Financial Theatre.
Just thought I’d throw that in for those good readers who might not be able to make Innings Fest this year.
Meanwhile, at the Left Field stage, there will be two 45-minute chats of Off The Mound w/ Ryan Dempster. For clarification, the guests for Off The Mound are never announced prior to the festival. You just basically show up the day of and find out who “Demp” will be hanging out with.
At the Speed Pitch on Saturday will be former Chicago Cub Shawon Dunston. You can also catch (see what I did there) another former AZ. Diamondback Mark Grace and former Minnesota Twin Torii Hunter at the Batting Cage.
I imagine a case could be made that the third day of Innings Fest may just be tough to beat on Sunday. February 22nd. With Home Plate headliner Blink-182 closing out the weekend, there will be plenty of fans who will turn out for the current incarnation of Sublime as well. Switchfoot, Bowling For Soup and Common People will add to the fun I’m sure for many in attendance that final day too.
On the Right Field stage, I imagine it’s going to be pretty tough to perform before Public Enemy, who will close the night. Unfortunately, they’ll only have one hour to play. Still, it’ll be interesting to see if fans will be getting an unfiltered Chuck D, given how divided the nation is these days.
Speaking candidly, I’m even more curious to see if they’ll play “By The Time I Get To Arizona”. I’ll just say… do a Google search on that one.
Oh yeah, Big Boi, Eve 6, Artikal Sound System and The Ramona Flowers will also perform.
Finally, the Left Field stage will have Chris Sabo at the Speed Pitch as well as Jason Kipnis. The Batting Cage will have Miguel Montero and Erik Karros, respectively. Don’t miss Off The Mound w/ Ryan Dempster. You’ll get a kick out of it.
Note: These events are cashless. You will need to either have a debit or credit card to purchase merchandise, food or drinks. They have a lot of venders providing food, but the lines can get long after 5:30. You can turn your wrist band into a payment method. Just talk to the Guest Services just outside of the park or at the booth in the park.
For various ticket options please go to https://inningsfest.com
