The best and worst of Innings Festival 2026 in Tempe

Another Innings Festival is in the books.

The 2026 edition of the music and baseball event saw the festival expand to three days to fit in a slew of big names, including Blink-182, Twenty One Pilots, Mumford & Sons, Sublime, Big Boi, Public Enemy and many more.

With a production this large, of course, there will inevitably be some highs and lows. Here’s our best and worst of Innings Festival.

Best: The weather

February weather in Arizona is unpredictable. We recall Innings Festivals past when it felt like we were roasting in the winter sun. So it was a relief that the first two days of this year’s event were incredibly mild, transitioning to downright chilly when the sun set. It’s a lot easier to add layers to warm up than to stay cool in high temps and not a lot of shade. Jennifer Goldberg

Worst: People not dressed for the weather

Yes, this year’s Innings Festival was unusually chilly the first two days. But you know what we have now? Weather forecasts. We get it: Some people put a lot of time and effort into their festival fits, and a coat would spoil the look. But we also saw a lot of people in regular outfits clutching themselves and shivering. We’re known for our beautiful winter weather, sure, but it’s not a guarantee. A huge component of outdoor music festival success is common sense: sunscreen for the afternoon, water to stay hydrated and a glance at a weather app before you step out your door go a long way toward having a good time. Jennifer Goldberg

Best: Innings staff and security

It’s got to be a tough gig corralling thousands of people over the course of a three-day music festival, but the Innings staff knocked it out of the park. Entry cues were plentiful and painless, the grounds and facilities were mostly clean, and it was cool to get dabbed up by volunteers who recognized you from the previous day as you filed into the fields. First impressions go a long way, and Tempe’s hospitality surely gave the out-of-town festival-goers a reason on top of the strong lineups to come back . While security was thorough, they were helpful, too, with many asking guests if they needed shade or water and offering up cardboard squares (from said water cartons) to guests as makeshift sun visors. The bands were even into it, as Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carrabba shouted out the friendly security from the stage, saying they were the nicest staff he had ever encountered. Sure, this could be rockstar hyperbole from the king of overly dramatic heartache, but in the moment, given our shared collective experience, it seemed true. Zach Oden

Worst: Prices

We were going to say “food prices,” but why restrict ourselves? Innings Festival is a freaking expensive undertaking. The expansion from two days to three naturally raised prices for two- and three-day passes, but the numbers are still staggering. Prices ranged from $180 for one-day general admission to nearly $2,400 for a three-day Platinum pass, with all sorts of tiers in between (GA+, Center Bleachers, VIP). And once you get in the door, the stress on your bank account doesn’t ease up. The $10 giant slices from Pizza Nova seemed to be the best deal, but we know one guy who ponied up for a $22 hot dog. Add in alcohol and maybe a souvenir T-shirt, and three days of fun end up being a major dent in the wallet. Jennifer Goldberg

Best: Family-friendly vibes

There were a lot of kids running around the festival, or, in some cases, being towed by parents as they lounged in folding wagons and slept, which was awesome to see. Many of the Innings Fest acts’ biggest fans may have aged out of the all-day fest ragers, but it’s nice to see that they can still enjoy their favorite bands and not have to worry about a sitter, as kids 8 and under got free admission with the adult ticket. Plus, it’s never too early to have your toddler in the grass bopping to Big Boi and learning how to properly throw up an “ATL Hoe!,” so Innings Fest is giving millennial parents the opportunity to raise ’em right by exposing them to some fantastic music. Zach Oden 

Worst: Right Field Stage sound

Mixing sound at an outdoor festival is tricky business, for sure. The sound is going to carry in different ways depending on where you are standing, but the Right Field Stage seemed to have a more difficult time than most dialing it in for both the bands and the audience. Early into the Deer Tick set, audiences complained that they couldn’t make out lead singer (and Vanessa Carlton’s husband) John McCauley’s vocals. 

“Turn up the vocals? You sure? You’ve been warned. I have a pretty weird voice!” McCauley deadpanned back.

However, troubles persisted into later sets, with Silversun Pickups’ acoustic guitar barely making a dent in the mix and Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba’s vocals being drowned out by the wall of electric guitars at times. Even Big Boi and Sleepy Brown experienced issues, with the latter wincing as feedback from the two-mic and DJ setup caused him to remove his earpiece monitors at one point and motion to the stagehands to address the problem. Sound engineering at these gigs can be a thankless endeavor, and the quick turnaround between bands and their soundchecks probably doesn’t help, but a bad sound mix can break a good set for everyone involved, and for the ticket price, this should be a non-issue. Zach Oden 

Best: Artists in the crowd

Seeing a musical idol on stage at Innings is thrilling. Whether you’re a Platinum passholder sitting on the stage or the farthest GA plebe, the thought that the band you listen to incessantly is right there boggles the mind and delights the heart. So it was an even bigger treat to watch some of this year’s acts fling themselves directly into the crowd with abandon.

Joe King of The Fray did it on Saturday afternoon, when he broke containment and ran singing through the GA and VIP standing room areas. So did Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots, who twice stood on platforms held aloft by the crowd during the band’s Saturday night headlining set. He also made his way to the cabanas to sing part of “Ride.” Jennifer Goldberg

Worst: Dust

It wasn’t as bad as previous years, but trekking from Right Field to Home Plate became something like a Mad Max situation by the middle of day two, as thousands of feet had tramped about every patch of sun-worn natural grass. The dusty haze kicked up by the migrating festival throngs settled in the air and clung to the evening air, giving everyone that sooty sand film and causing those with respiratory issues to mask up or take a break from the shows. Out-of-towners complained about mesquite thorns when they sat down, and the violent sneezing in the crowd from folks unaccustomed or unacclimated to Arizona’s pollen were as numerous as Blink-182 T-shirts. We know some of this is beyond Inning Fest’s control, and there was more turf laid down than in previous years, but it would be great to see some sod (or a less sandy route) linking the stages. Zach Oden