In the shadow of Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a different kind of matchup came together over the weekend. The baseball-oriented Innings Festival brought an all-star lineup to Florida for the second year in a row, featuring headliners Dave Matthews Band and Imagine Dragons.
The first pitch arrived on Saturday, March 18th for Innings’ home opener, with Imagine Dragons, Weezer, and Pitbull topping the batting order. Elsewhere on the three music stages, the C3 Presents festival and offshoot of the flagship Tempe, AZ event—which just completed its fifth installment last month—hosted sets by Grouplove, Japanese Breakfast, Tai Verdes, Joey Valence & Brae, Cydeways, and Briscoe.
In a cross-cultural moment, former San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy took the Left Field stage for his own All-Star Jam. Along with a winning roster of musicians, Innings Festival hosted appearances and meet-and-greets with MLB greats including Wade Boggs, John Kruk, Andy Van Slyke, Edwin Encarnacion, Travis Hafner, and more.
On Sunday, Innings Festival returned to finish off the two-day double-header of music. Florida’s own The Ries Brothers out of Clearwater got the day started at the Home Plate stage before The Heavy Heavy from London went deep on the Right Field stage. The day two lineup featured another pitcher-turned-musician with the former Cincinnati Red Bronson Arroyo and his band. Performances by Third Eye Blind, The Revivalists, and Marcus Mumford then warmed up the crowd for the evening’s top acts The Avett Brothers and finally Dave Matthews Band.
Check out image galleries from throughout the two days of Innings Festival Florida courtesy of photographer Joanna Gleason along with a collection of fan-shot videos.
Weezer – Innings Festival – Tampa, FL – 3/18/23 – Full Set
[Video: Davied in The Crowd]