An unseasonably chilly day welcomed the 2026 installment of Innings Festival to Tempe Beach Park last week as thousands of fans bundled up against the late winter wind to catch the first fest of the season. Arizona’s premier baseball/music mashup ushered in the arrival of Spring Training with a stunning lineup that combined nostalgic favorites with current hitmakers for a weekend that had plenty of fun for the whole family. Atlas was in the middle of the action for all three days- check out our favorite moments from Friday!
Innings Gets Tongue Tied with Grouplove and OK Go
The late afternoon sun offered some respite from the cold as fans gathered around the Right Field Stage to dance with OK Go. The group was all smiles as they took the stage to an enthusiastic audience and proceeded to deliver a performance that took the fest right back to the days of iconic YouTube videos and dance mashups to “I Won’t Let You Down”. Their set was a breath of fresh air into classic favorites, ending (of course) with “Here It Goes Again”.
Unwilling to stop the party so soon, the audience traipsed across the grounds to the Home Plate Stage as Grouplove emerged into the bright Arizona sun. Shades firmly in place, the band immediately had hands waving and bodies moving to “Heart of Mine” and “Deleter”. Lead singers (and married couple) Hannah Hooper and Christian Zucconi were electric together, their years of musical and romantic chemistry lighting up the band’s performance from start to finish. The first notes of “Tongue Tied” sparked the audience into action as the entire field raised its collective voice to sing along before the set closed with “Ways to Go” and “Colours”.
Indie pop certainly had the spotlight as the afternoon went on, with Canadian group Peach Pit drawing an impressive crowd at Right Field. Their blend of soft indie sounds combined with an electrifying rock element made it impossible to look away from the stage during “Black Licorice” and “Outta Here”. The band was funny and charming between songs, thoroughly endearing themselves to longtime fans and new listeners alike before the evening’s main acts.
The Goo Goo Dolls and Mumford & Sons Slide into Home Plate
Friday night boasted a sold out crowd and that was evident by the time The Goo Goo Dolls made their appearance on the main stage. The New York rockers are well-loved in Arizona and the reception from the fans brought smiles to the faces of singer John Rzeznik and bassist Robby Takac. They encouraged everyone to join them in singing to “Slide”, “Nothing Lasts Forever” and “Better Days”, an anthemic reminder that tomorrow can always be brighter than today. Rzeznik was playful with the audience, shouting “Put ‘em up, I want to see your belly buttons!” as he got the crowd to raise their hands in unison. Naturally the set ended with “Iris” and a sing-a-long moment that stretched across the boundaries of Tempe Town Lake.
After a long day and a bitterly cold evening, fans shivered with both the night’s chill and anticipation for the arrival of Mumford & Sons. The band is fresh off their latest album release and celebrated both their new music and their first festival of the year with an eager Tempe audience. The crowd stretched to the farthest corners of the park, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of Marcus Mumford, Ted Dwane and Ben Lovett as their banjo-tinged tunes and string lights bathed them in a comforting and familiar warmth. Mumford was also cheeky onstage, poking fun at the golfwear found in Arizona and laughing with his bandmates throughout the set. The new music drew a largely positive reaction but it was the familiar songs like “Babel”, “Little Lion Man” and “Awake My Soul” that had a sea of phones hoisted into the air to capture every note.
It’s been a solid length of time since Mumford & Sons has visited Arizona so the local fans hung on the band’s every word, memorizing the feeling of being under the lights with the iconic folk rock group. The main set ended with “The Wolf” but the band quickly returned for an encore that closed out night one with a fireworks spectacular to the tune of “I Will Wait”. Friday was a perfect kickoff to the weekend ahead and fans vacated the park eager to start all over again the next day.
