Innings Festival Florida made its return to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL on Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March 19, 2023. This was the second year in a row the event was held in Tampa. The weekend brought together the worlds of music and baseball for over 30,000 music and sports fans. Festival goers were treated to continuous music with artists performing non-overlapping sets on the Main Home Plate and Right Field stages.
Imagine Dragons, Weezer, and Pitbull were the showcase acts for day one of the festival. Early acts included Briscoe, Cydeways, Joey Valence & Brae, Tai Verdes, Japanese Breakfast, and Grouplove. The weather was very pleasant for the opening day with most attendees wearing shorts and throwing on a hoodie or jacket later in the night as temperatures started to drop.
Coming into the weekend I was familiar with the headlining acts but didn’t know what to expect from the opening acts. It has always been a habit of mine to show up early for festivals and concerts to support lesser-known bands and to get exposed to new music. In this case, it turned out to be a great decision. The crowds were small at the start and gradually increased as the day progressed, but the late arrivers missed some great bands.
Austin-based Briscoe opened the day with its ’70-inspired brand of Americana / Folk. Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton eased the crowd into the day with acoustic and sax. Next up was Santa Barbara Cydeways who added a little more flavor with front man Dustin Parks‘ alt-reggae and hip-hop vocals. The band got the crowd moving and swaying which was good because they needed warmed up limbs for the next band, Joey Valence & Brae. This duo blew me away putting on a Beastie Boys-style performance. They were definitely one of my favorite acts of the weekend.
R&B artist Tai Verdes followed JVB and had the crowd chilling with his smooth viral hit “Stuck In the Middle”. His songs just made you want to put a smile on your face. One of the great things about Innings Florida was each act was given at least 45 minutes which allowed Verdes to perform most of the songs from his HDTV album.
Korean American singer Michelle Zaunerrom hit the stage with her band Japanese Breakfast dressed in a red dress and black boots with her hair braided in pigtails. During the opening song, “Paprika”, she roamed the stage returning regularly to the center to strike a Zildjian traditional gong with a Chinese gong mallet. “Be Sweet” saw her making use of the “T” shaped thrust stage by walking out into the crowd so she was surrounded by fans on three sides. Showing she is more than just a singer Zaunerrom grabbed a guitar for “In Heaven” while her husband Peter Bradley switched to keyboards. The band gave a very refreshing indie-pop performance.
Japanese Breakfast was not the only husband-wife act at Innings Florida. Grouplove, fronted by married couple Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper both share lead vocals for the band. The chemistry between the two showed when they sang face to face during “Deleter” getting on their knees and staring into each other’s eyes as they sang. They made their daughter a promise to get everyone to chant “Yes” for 20 seconds before their new song to make everyone feel good and that they did. Just before “Hello” they had the whole crowd chanting the word. They put on one of the better performances of the weekend.
The crowd was totally amped for the next act, Pitbull. There were Pitbull signs hanging on the barrier with people in the crowd dressed up like the performer. This was the act I was most excited to see from a photographer perspective. The artist is known for his Vegas-style shows with video screens and live dancers. Being that this was a festival, I wasn’t sure if we would get the full show, but I wasn’t disappointed when he walked out with female dancers on both sides. Being a photographer at a festival sometimes means missing a band’s best songs, which they typically save for last, because you have to get to the other stage for the next band. However, Pitbull came out firing with “Don’t Stop The Party”, “Hey Baby”, and “Hotel Room Service”. While I was initially more interested in photographing Pitbull, I left totally blown away by his performance. This is definitely a performer I will pay to see in the future.
After Pitbull fans got to see one of the best alternative rock bands of the 1990s and early 2000s when Rivers Cuomo and Weezer hit the stage. This was another one of my favorite performances. They came out of the gate with their #1 hit “Beverly Hills”. The 15,000 people in attendance were singing along with Cuomo right from the start. When the band got to the chorus, they were shouting the lyrics. Weezer rolled through hits like “Island In The Sun”, “Undone – The Sweater Song”, “Say It Ain’t So”, and their recent cover of Toto’s “Africa”. There were only 5 minutes between the end of their set and the start of Imagine Dragons on the main stage, but a lot of people stayed for the last song which is my personal favorite, “Buddy Holly”. Disappointingly, I had to leave early to make it in time for the start of Imagine Dragons.
Imagine Dragons was the last act of the night. Lead singer Dan Reynolds came out on stage shirtless and in shorts looking like Adonis which I’m sure had the women in the crowd drooling. Talk about being ripped. The band started off with “My Life” from Mercury – Acts 1 & 2 and their big hit “Believer” from Evolve. The visuals for the show were incredible with vibrant colours and great lighting. Fans got to hear all their favourite songs including “Demons”, “Thunder”, and “Radioactive”. Imagine Dragons was certainly worthy of being the headlining act for the day.
Day two was an abbreviated one for me. Lesson learned, if you are attending a multi-day festival make sure to pace yourself. I was able to catch the middle acts of the day. The opening act was The Ries Brothers who are a local band from St. Petersburg, FL. Following them were The Heavy Heavy. I definitely got ’60s and ’70s vibe from this band. They characterize their sound as a cross between The Rolling Stones and The Mamas & The Papas. Lead singer Georgie Fuller had that ’60s look going on with the shades and tambourine.
Atlanta indie country artist Faye Webster was probably the mellowest act of the weekend. While several of the other bands made you want to get on your feet and move, Webster’s slow relaxing sound made you want to chill and lay back on the lawn staring at the sky above.
The Breeders with twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal on guitars and Josephine Wiggs on bass picked things up with some more aggressive guitar playing. The highlight of their set was their 1993 hit “Cannonball”. This is one of the classic alternative rock songs of the era with great guitar licks and one of the most recognizable bass lines. Mixed in were other great songs including “Saints” and their version of The Beatles‘ “Happiness is a Warm Gun”.
Next up was another great alternative rock band from the ’90s, Third Eye Blind. They had the crowd rocking out to their hits “How’s It Going To Be”, “Jumper”, and “Never Let You Go”. This was a sing-along set for fans. Front man Stephan Jenkins put on an energetic performance taking fans back to the ’90s. They closed the set with fan favorite “Semi-Charmed Life”, their #1 smash hit from 1997.
The Revivalists was the last act I saw this day. This was my first exposure to the band. The person in charge of the locker system asked me the day before what bands I was most excited to photograph. Of course, I mentioned Pitbull, Imagine Dragons, and Weezer. He told me I had to catch The Revivalists with their 8-member band. This was spot-on advice. The band’s music was filled with multiple layers consisting of guitars, drums, sax, trumpets, and pedal steel guitar. Of the performers I saw over the weekend, vocalist David Shaw did the best job of interacting with the crowd. He was constantly moving from side to side across the stage and climbing into the photo pit to get right up to the crowd. The Revivalists, along with Pitbull, probably put on the two best performances of the weekend of the acts I saw.
Unfortunately, I was not able to make performances by Marcus Mumford, The Avett Brothers, and Dave Matthews Band. The feedback I received from other journalists indicates they all put on great performances.
While a large percentage of festival goers came for the musical acts, there was also a large number that came for the baseball activities. Baseball fans came dressed in all their favorite team jerseys, shirts, and caps. There were Yankees fans, Reds fans, Cardinal fans, and many others including my favorite the Detroit Tigers.
Over the two days, fans were able to meet and get autographs from some great baseball players from the last 30 years including Rafael Furcal, Ray Lankford, Wade Boggs, Ryan Klesko, Tom Herr, Cecil Fielder, Goose Gossage, Edward Encarnacion, Andy Van Slyke, and Travis Hafner. The lines were long to meet the players which showed the great interest from attendees. In addition to meeting players, kids and adults were also able to try their hand at pitching and batting in the respective cages. The children especially seemed to enjoy seeing how fast they could throw a baseball.
Former MLB pitcher Ryan Dempster brought his Off the Mound with Ryan Dempster show to Innings Festival Florida with a show each day. The show which debuted in August 2018 is a live, late night-style talk show featuring stories, laughs and the occasional singalong or batting practice with MLB stars past and present, actors, musicians and comedians. Dempster talked to some of the weekend guests including baseball great, Wade Boggs.
Adding a little more baseball flavor to the weekend was Bronson Arroyo. The former MLB player, who pitched in the league from 2000 to 2017, has been recording music since 2005. He brought his band to festival on Sunday, giving a performance on the Left Field stage.
Innings Festival Florida was a festival, not a concert, and as such there was more than just music during the weekend. Besides the aforementioned baseball activities, there was lots of great food and beverage options available during the weekend. An Oasis area for VIP and Platinum ticket holders complete with sofas, picnic tables, and bleachers for viewing the shows on both stages provided a relaxing environment to take in the weekend.
As with most festivals, sponsors play a big part in making the event possible. This year Aviation American Gin, Basico Tequila Blanco, Corona, George Dickel Bourbon Whisky, Diplomatico Rum, Ghost Energy, Mamitas Tequila & Soda, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Verizon, and White Claw Hard Seltzer all partnered with Innings Fest.
Innings Festival Florida 2023 was a smashing success. The weekend was filled with great music, activities and food. The weather was close to ideal for the weekend with temperatures ranging from the low 60s to the low 80s with only a brief period of rain. The festival did a fantastic job of keeping everything on schedule. Let’s hope that this continues to be an annual event in Tampa with a return visit in 2024.
Post by Scott Raymer (Website | Instagram | Facebook)
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