The Fall Out Boy madness dissipated overnight and Innings Festival day two started fresh with a heavy dose of Arizona heat and yet another day of amazing music. Headlined by The Killers and Boyz II Men, Saturday’s crowd skewed just a little older as fans of both bands relived an era that still holds up in 2025. Atlas was back in the pit for the final day- here’s our favorite moments!
Jazz and Soul in the Park
It’s hard to believe that Grace Bowers- guitar prodigy and leader of The Hodge Podge- is only 18 years old. With her wild blonde curls and gold trimmed outfit, the frontwoman calmly walked out onto the Home Plate stage and proceeded to blow everyone away with her incredible skills. Backed by a multitude of instrumentalists, Bowers said barely a word throughout the set and let her guitar do the talking. Attendees walking by in the early afternoon were stopping in their tracks, mesmerized by the whole group’s artistic savvy- with plenty singing along to their cover of Bruno Mars’ “Fly as Me”.
Bowers is on tour with another act playing the main stage- Gary Clark Jr. leaned into the baseball theme as well with his bright blue bucket hat to match his Chicago Cubs jersey. The Grammy winner brought his fusion of blues, soul and hip hop to an audience that was absolutely ready for a relaxed afternoon and received just that with “When My Train Pulls In”, “Bright Lights” and more.
Last Straw, AZ
If there’s one place Andrew McMahon definitely loves, it’s Arizona. While not from the desert himself, Arizona pops up in his lyrics across his plethora of bands and this time it was Jack’s Mannequin- risen from the dead- rocking out at the Right Field stage. The band’s original lineup is back on the road for a reunion jaunt and Tempe was only the second stop on a lengthy upcoming journey.
McMahon has barely left the road in his career and he spoke about bringing back Jack’s Mannequin during a pre-show appearance at the Off the Mound live interview. Fans flocked to the Left Field stage to hear McMahon talk about his daughter, the balancing act of three semi-active projects and even his Dear Jack Foundation. The audience stood in rapt attention and host Ryan Dempster presented a donation check for the foundation at the end, moving many devoted fans to tears.
Onstage, Jack’s Mannequin played with an ease of a band simply falling back into familiar patterns while breathing new life into old favorites. Following a pattern of the weekend, they opened with “Dark Blue” and “Holiday From Real” before unleashing some deeper cuts on an audience that has clearly missed them. McMahon couldn’t possibly play a set without leaping into the audience or off of his own piano and this performance had both- fans high-fived McMahon before the band closed out with “The Mixed Tape” and, of course, “La La Lie”.
Rounding Out a Killer Weekend
As the sun set beyond Tempe Town Lake, fans of all ages were spotted running towards the Right Field stage to see the return of Boyz II Men. The highly acclaimed group bathed the crowd in purple and pink light and serenaded each and every person in the audience with their sublime harmonies. After a few of their own hits- most notably “Motownphilly” and “On Bended Knee”- the trio ran through a medley of R&B and pop covers to get their fans really dancing. The group’s all white outfits gleamed under the stage lights as they picked Journey’s “Open Arms” as one of the most beautiful songs in the world and tossed roses to the aunties during “I’ll Make Love to You”. Their set was a testament to how their music has been passed down over their 30 year career and nothing says impact like thousands of people passionately singing along to “End of the Road”.
The weekend flew by and suddenly it was time for The Killers to take us home. Arizona’s fellow desert rats (Las Vegas, not Phoenix as singer Brandan Flowers clarifies) ran with the spirit of the baseball theme and opened a high octane set with John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” and invoked a sense of nostalgia completely separate from the band’s own lengthy career. Putting “Mr. Brightside” at the top of the set was a nod to how many hits they still had left in their arsenal and the band pulled out all the stops.
Flowers was Vegas-ready in his blue suit, his vocals soaring over the field during “Smile Like You Mean It” and “Shot at the Night”. The Killers as a collective have never met a short song but it still worked for a festival setting. The fans were ready for the journey, not the destination, singing along to a band that shaped a generation of music lovers. Many fans were spotted with signs in the pit, hoping to join the band for a song on either guitar or drums. One lucky Arizonan was chosen to play drums on “For Reasons Unknown” and smashed it, impressing both the band and the audience cheering him on.
The Killers are acutely aware that they’re the best band in the world- just ask them- and they took that confidence around the world all the way to the end of day two of Innings Festival 2025. The main set concluded with a sing along to “All These Things That I’ve Done” before they returned to close another amazing event with “Human” and “When You Were Young”.
The seventh inning stretch of Innings Festival was one for the books- well-run, attended by fans of all ages and backgrounds and with plenty of activities to supplement two days of incredible music. Dusty, exhausted attendees trooped out of Tempe Beach Park already looking forward to next year’s event and we’ll be back in the pit for the next installment.
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