Innings Festival 2026 Knocks it Out of Tempe Beach Park [Photos]

Day one of Innings Festival kicked off on Friday, February 20th, under sunny Arizona skies on the water at Tempe Beach Park & Arts Park. The first set we caught over at the “Right Field Stage” was Chicago-based OK Go. Known for their creative music videos and live show production, fans had a throwback to the days of MTV music videos as the group performed “Here It Goes Again” and “I Won’t Let You Down,” notably sans the copious amounts of confetti typically found at their shows due to the stage’s close proximity to the river.

One of the biggest highlights of Innings’ setup this year was no overlap between the two main stages, meaning it was possible for attendees to catch every artist if they wanted to. Next up on the “Home Plate Stage” was Grouplove, the five-piece indie rock band led by power couple Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi. Fans of Misterwives or Lawrence would love the party vibes of this set, with lots of headbanging, happy chaos, and a heartfelt tribute to the drummer of Manchester Orchestra, Tim Very, who had passed earlier in the week. After a brief walk over to catch Peach Pit play a few of their slower, sometimes lyrically silly tracks as the sun began to set over the desert, it was time to head back to the “Home Plate Stage” again to see Goo Goo Dolls.

Possibly the most highly anticipated moment on Friday night was getting to sing along to the once again viral “Iris,” under the cool desert sky. The group packed 17 songs into their one-hour and 15-minute set, which also included classics like “Slide” and “Name.” This stage was absolutely packed for their set, with crowds reaching as far back as some of the food vendors in that area, as everyone waited for that perfect sing-along moment.

Closing out the “Right Field Stage” Friday night was British singer-songwriter Myles Smith. Best known for viral singles “Stargazing” and “Nice to Meet You,” the singer blends country vibes with more of a folky sound, making for some interesting combinations. He drew a sizable crowd of his own fans who didn’t stop singing and dancing throughout his whole hour-long set.

Last up to headline the day was Mumford & Sons, who brought the perfect amount of energy to warm up the crowd in now quite chilly conditions under the night sky. This was also somewhat of an album release show for the band, with their newest album, Prizefighter, having been released just earlier that day. They opened up with a new song, “Run Together,” before throwing it back to some classics like “Babel” and “Little Lion Man.” Mumford & Sons is the type of band where everyone in the audience probably knows at least a song or two, and this was evident as the entire crowd sang along to the classics like “Lover of the Light,” “Ditmas,” and “Believe” under the string lights rigged across the top of the pit. The show couldn’t be complete without an encore with “I Will Wait,” which closed out with fireworks as fans left after a successful first day.

Innings Festival Day One @ Tempe Beach Park (Tempe, AZ) on February 20th, 2026

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Saturday: The Clique Takes Over Innings Festival for Day Two:

The stars of Saturday at Innings Festival were the fans, more specifically, the very dedicated fans of Twenty One Pilots. They lined up hours before the gates opened and sprinted to the barricade just for a chance of seeing their favourite band up close that evening. The first day to sell out, fans were eager to see the band’s first festival headline performance in several years.

But first, we had lots of other incredible talent to get to. Catie Turner opened up “Home Plate Stage” with a gorgeous acoustic set that showcased her vocals and fun personality. Over on the “Right Field Stage,” Rhode-Island-based Deer Tick joked about being stuck in Arizona due to the snow back home before getting out their guitars and playing their set. Vertical Horizon was next up on the “Home Plate Stage,” then we were right back at “Right Field” for Silversun Pickups.

Fans camped out at the main stage for Twenty One Pilots were in for a treat for the rest of the evening, starting with an emotionally charged set by The Fray, with emotional anthem after anthem sung by Joe King, the founding bandmember who has recently taken over as lead singer after Isaac Slade stepped down a few years ago. Fans sang and cried to “Over My Head (Cable Car),” “You Found Me,” and, of course, “How to Save a Life” as golden hour began over the park. And these golden hour vibes carried right into the next set by Dashboard Confessional, perhaps one of the best choices for a gut-wrenching, vulnerable, and beautiful set by frontman Chris Carrabba. “Stolen,” “Vindicated,” and “Screaming Infidelities” were just some of the songs Carrabba belted out into the sunset as fans immersed themselves in the rawness of the set.

Back at the “Home Plate Stage,” the penultimate performers there, Cage the Elephant, took the stage. Lead singer Matt Shultz arguably had the most energy on stage of any single performer the entire weekend, with over an hour straight of running and jumping over, around, and with the microphone stand. His brother and guitarist Brad Shultz wasn’t far behind, jumping down to the barricade to lay down on the crowd to play guitar. They’re another band where everyone knows a song or two, and the energy was unmatched for performances of “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” “Cigarette Daydreams,” and “Come a Little Closer.”

Headlining the “Right Field Stage” on Saturday night was Lord Huron, one of my personal favourite groups to see live, especially the setup and production of their current show. They always manage to bring the audience into this old Western, ghost-town type world that fits so perfectly with their music. “Ends of the Earth,” “Wait By The River,” and a remixed version of “Frozen Pines” were some of the highlights of the night, with, of course, “The Night We Met” closing out their set.

Making the journey over to the “Home Plate Stage” one more time, fans were out in full force, ready for Twenty One Pilots to finally perform. Anything from band merch to full cosplays of “Clancy” and “Torchbearer” (characters from the Twenty One Pilots story), to the hoodie at the festival for the newly released “Drag Path” that sold out the day before they were even scheduled to play, could be seen throughout the audience. The set opened up with the band’s standard run of “Overcompensate” and “The Contract” before taking an unexpected turn that would set the vibe for the rest of the night.

Song three was the live debut of the somewhat deep-cut “Center Mass” with a joking “Josh Dun is my dad” sing-along adlib throughout. Just a few more songs in, after “Heathens” and “Next Semester,” the duo dropped their second live debut of the night, “One Way,” with a cover of Milky Chance’s “Stolen Dance” remixed into the bridge of the song. While historically just the drummer, Josh Dun joined lead singer Tyler Joseph on vocals for part of “Drum Show,” and climbed up some scaffolding to a second drumset to play for “RAWFEAR.” Then came the third and final live debut of the night with the accidentally viral “Drag Path” that was officially released earlier that week but originally existed as a longer, unreleased song on the band’s latest album, Breach.

The show continued with performances of “Ride” and “Stressed Out” before adding in one more cover – The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” which the duo performed late last year at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. And it wouldn’t be a Twenty One Pilots show if they didn’t close with “Trees” on top of the crowd. Was it worth the wait for fans up at the front? I’d say so.

Innings Festival Day Two @ Tempe Beach Park (Tempe, AZ) on February 21st, 2026

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Sunday: Innings Festival Wraps Up With Hip-Hop, Ska, and Rock:

After the high energy of Saturday, Sunday felt like a nice breath of fresh air as fans returned to the festival grounds in some much warmer and sunnier weather than the two days before. We took some time to check out some of the other activities and areas of the festival. There were lots of great food options and variety, including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. Anything from burgers to ice cream to churros to chicken sandwiches could be found in the festival’s concession area, along with picnic tables or benches by the water to eat at or just take a break on.

Wandering a little further away from the main stages, you would find yourself on an actual baseball field, with a stage set up for Ryan Dempster’s Off the Mound podcast/music guest show, along with some batting cages to put your baseball skills to the test. Innings Festival takes place during the MLB’s Spring Training in Arizona, so any big baseball fans who travelled to the fest could also try to catch a game in town if they wanted to.

Eventually, we made our way over to the “Right Field Stage” as Bowling for Soup was mid-set on the “Home Plate Stage,” playing the “Phineas and Ferb Theme.” Along with great music, the four of them incorporate comedy into both their banter and lyrics, making for an entertaining show packed with songs for the millennials in attendance to sing along to, notably to “1985,” which they played at the end of the set. Over at the “Right Field Stage,” we caught Southern California rock band Eve 6 before making the walk back again to see Switchfoot on the main stage. They were easily the high-energy highlight of the day, with frontman Jon Foreman jumping into the crowd near the beginning of the set and keeping up the energy for the full hour that they had.

“The Right Field Stage” made a shift to hip-hop the rest of the day, a completely different but fun vibe that we hadn’t really seen the rest of the weekend. First, we got to see Big Boi, half of hip-hop duo OutKast. He played a mix of his own songs (“Shutterbug,” “All Night”), Outkast songs (“Player’s Ball,” “The Way You Move”), and a few covers as well.

The hip-hop energy kept up when Public Enemy took the stage a little over an hour later, and this duo of Flavor Flav and Chuck D knows how to put on a show for any audience. Their songs are statements, “Fight the Power” being one of their more well-known songs that calls out political injustice and critiques the media’s portrayal of Black communities. Despite some of the heavier content, however, the duo kept the energy up amongst the growing crowd, closing out “Right Field” for the weekend.

Between these two sets, Sublime took the “Home Plate Stage” for what felt like the busiest set of the night. The festival grounds were packed with fans in Sublime merch, even more so than merch for blink-182. It was a special night for frontman Jakob Nowell, as it was his late father Bradley Nowell’s birthday, the band’s original lead singer. Sublime’s vibe was very laid back, with people sitting and standing and just vibing to “Badfish,” “What I Got,” and more.

To finish out the weekend, fans were in for a treat with an incredible closing set by blink-182. With hit after hit and lots of fun banter between singers Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge alongside drummer Travis Barker, it was a set that anyone could find a part of to enjoy. It was hit after hit, with “What’s My Age Again?,” “I Miss You,” and of course, the closing track “All the Small Things.” The only thing tough to like about their set was how quickly it was over, but there was plenty enough nostalgia baked into it to make up for a little bit of a shorter set than usual.

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This three-day weekend at Innings Festival went incredibly well, and it seems like the festival is trying to expand its footprint as a household name. There’s really nowhere else in the U.S. putting on a festival during the winter, and music lovers probably would love the chance to travel, warm up, and catch some great performances in an otherwise typically slow few months of concert tours.

Innings Festival Day Three@ Tempe Beach Park (Tempe, AZ) on February 22nd, 2026

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