Thousands of fans attended Innings Festival at Tempe Beach Park to enjoy the music festival, meet athletes and experience nostalgia.
The first weekend of the festival on Feb. 21 and 22 brought in established bands with recognizable names. Neon Trees, The All-American Rejects, Incubus and Boyz II Men are just a few of the bands who wrote the soundtrack of Gen Z and millennial childhoods.
"The music industry tends to be oversaturated with a lot of bands that are advertising on social media," said Morgan Pearce, a senior studying printmaking. "Older bands that already have an audience and already have a lot of listeners, people just are more likely to recognize their name."
Fall Out Boy headlined night one, bringing high energy and huge set pieces. Their set list followed the band's 20-year career, taking listeners chronologically from their first album in 2003 to their most recent album from 2023. For curious fans, the Magic 8 ball song was "Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet."
Fall Out Boy has modern hits, but for many ASU students, the band reminds them of early emo phases.
"I saw them almost 10 years ago to the day. Now I'm seeing them again tonight," said Jackie Duerksen, an ASU alumnus who attended the Innings Festival.
Nostalgia was also on the minds of the band members. Pete Wentz, lyricist and bassist for Fall Out Boy, thanked longtime fans for supporting their early shows at Hollister, which allowed them to headline music festivals.
The Killers headlined the festival for night two, playing into the baseball theme with a cover of John Fogerty's "Centerfield." Lead singer Brandon Flowers leaped right into the band's biggest hit "Mr. Brightside" to the cheers of an eager crowd.
"My parents listened to (The Killers) growing up … I know the song(s) from when I was little," Pearce said.
The Killers' set showcased powerful vocals and their Las Vegas flair for the dramatic. The band even brought up a guest drummer, a man from Tucson, out of the crowd.
Across all sets at the festival, crowd work and audience connection made for memorable moments. Fall Out Boy shouted out a man in the crowd for being especially "locked in." Boyz II Men threw a few dozen roses into the audience for their set and asked the crowd to introduce themselves to each other.
Tyson Ritter, lead singer for The All-American Rejects, was likely the artist most committed to crowd work. He spoke about his mustache, the people who rented kayaks to hear the set from Tempe Town Lake and even a potential Post Malone sighting in the crowd.
"All-American Rejects really embodied their music and talked to the crowd and shouted out people and asked where people were from," said Elaine Wilt, a sophomore studying popular music. "That really brought life to who their band was, which makes you like the music more, because they're cool people."
For older attendees, the bands brought nostalgia through covers of classic hits. Both Incubus and Boyz II Men sang "Come Together" by The Beatles. Slightly Stoopid covered "P.I.M.P." by 50 Cent. These classic songs had huge crowds singing along, united by knowing the same words across decades.
"I feel very immersed in '90s, '80s and '70s culture, and I love it so much," Wilt said. "The music is what's left of what came from that era that you can really feel in the moment."
The festival wasn't only classic hits, as newer artists like Winona Fighter, Boyish and Grace Bowers showcased their new work and brought in new fans.
Innings Festival showed why these bands maintain college-aged audiences — they brought energy, vocals and stage presence to every set. But ASU students have theories for why they specifically care so much about nostalgic bands.
"We have a great culture at ASU, specifically of continuing on legacy traditions," Duerksen said. "They love to share those traditions with each other. They keep them going."
Wilt discussed live music in the greater context of an uncertain political climate and said Gen Z may have more faith in established bands.
"People want things that they can trust, and especially artists that they can trust," Wilt said. "Reputable artists have a good career behind them and also stand for something good."
Whether it's established bands or debut artists, ASU students showed their love for live music at Innings Festival.
"There's been this resurgence of live music. It's just developing a culture of wanting to go to a place with your friends, where you have a dedicated activity," Pearce said.
The second weekend of the event, Extra Innings Festival will take place at Tempe Beach Park on Feb. 28 and March 1 with a brand new lineup.
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Abigail Beck and Alysa Horton.
Reach the reporter at syramir2@asu.edu and follow @nerdyoso on X.
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Sophia is a senior studying biological sciences. This is her fifth semester with The State Press. She has also worked as a science and technology reporter.
