From emerging artists to country music legends, each performance united festival goers. Many artists shared words of gratitude at Extra Innings Festival in Tempe, expressing the power of music. 

“Music speaks to all of us, and I just want to thank him for my love of music,” Bret Michaels, former frontman for Poison said, about his father. 

Singer-songwriter Ian Harrison opened the festival at the Right Field Stage on Friday. An Ohio native, he brought his raw lyrics and country and folk inspired sound to one of the smaller stages of the festival. Harrison started out as a contestant on Season 22 of “The Voice” and later released his first EP, “Ways To Get On Out,” in 2024. He has continued to release multiple singles since then, including “If You Ever Loved Me” and “Cheap Shots,” both of which he performed at the festival. A standout of his set was his newest single, “Games,” which combined a catchy melody with vulnerable lyrics and vocals. 

Lola Kirke kicked off the festivities on the Home Plate Stage. She played hits from her latest album “Trailblazer,” including her cover with Willow Avalon of “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. As an actress, singer and an author, Kirke is a triple threat. She is known for her roles in the films “Gone Girl,” “Gemini” and most recently “Sinners,” where she is featured on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack. Kirke’s intimate vocals were at the forefront of her performance, drawing the crowd in and bringing an Americana sound to a country-packed festival. The upbeat and witty “All My Exes Live in L.A.,” featuring First Aid Kit, a folk duo she previously joined on tour, was a crowd pleaser. 

Bret Michaels brought festival-goers back to the 80s with Poison hits “Talk Dirty to Me,” “Nothin’ But A Good Time” and “Unskinny Bop.” Michaels and his band delivered a high energy set, running up and down the length of the stage and interacting with fans. A highlight of his set was his cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” followed by an impressive harmonica solo from Michaels. He also covered Sublime’s “What I Got” and Loggins and Messina’s “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” a song Poison famously covered in 1988. To end off the set, he played Poison classic “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” 

Native Phoenician and headliner Dierks Bentley returned home to an energetic crowd at Extra Innings Festival. The first half of his set was filled with his hits, including “I Hold On,” “Gold,” “Drunk On A Plane” and “What Was I Thinkin’.”Bentley and his band returned to the stage as the Hot Country Knights, a country parody band that he created in 2015. As a part of the act, the band was decked out in 90s outfits and wigs and covered a medley of country songs from that era. To add on to the fun, the band attempted choreography with their instruments, but ultimately ended up bumping into each other. 

The Hot Country Knights also played “T-R-O-U-B-L-E” by Travis Tritt, who is featured on the parody band’s album, as well as “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain, among others. Another key moment was the band’s performance of “Two Dozen Roses” by Shenandoah as Bentley’s 90s alter ego passed out roses to fans in the crowd.

Headliner Luke Bryan “kicked the dust up” on the Home Plate Stage, opening his set with “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” from his 2011 album “Tailgates & Tanlines.” Bryan then went into a series of hits spanning his nearly 20-year career, including “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” “Love, Miss You, Mean It” and “Crash My Party.” A highlight of his set was during “One Margarita” when he brought out a comically large margarita on stage and gave it to a fan in the audience. He slowed down the performance with a piano set, which included Jordan Davis’ song that Bryan is featured on called “Buy Dirt.” He followed with more hits, including “Play It Again” and crowd pleaser “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).” It’s safe to say that fans “didn’t want the night to end.”

Day two of the festival heated up during Shaboozey’s set when he came on stage singing “Last of My Kind (feat. Paul Cauthen).” He performed a series of songs from his newest album “Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going: The Complete Edition,” including his song with Myles Smith called “Blink Twice,” “Good News” and his song with Jelly Roll called “Amen.” After performing “Amen,” Shaboozey teared up talking about his friendship with Jelly Roll and the experience of making the song with him. The song was especially meaningful for Shaboozey as he won his first Grammy for “Amen” earlier this year.

A swoosh of animal print curtains revealed headliner HARDY to the crowd. His stage looked similar to a movie set with an elevated wood cabin on one side and a screen that displayed visuals of a forest with a buck in the center. He played a variety of his hits, including “JACK,” “BOOTS,” “Favorite Country Song” and his cover of “God’s Country” by Blake Shelton. HARDY also took the time to sign many hats that fans threw on to the stage while he was singing. He finished his performance with “TRUCK BED” and later returned to the stage sporting former Arizona State University’s running back Cam Skattebo’s jersey to say goodbye to the crowd in Tempe. 

Headliner Kane Brown closed out the weekend with a decade of hits, including “What Ifs (feat. Lauren Alaina),” “Good as You,” “Be Like That - feat. Swae Lee & Khalid” and “One Mississippi.” Fans were also treated to his upcoming single “Woman,” which comes out on March 13. During his performance, he shared a heartfelt moment with the crowd when he dedicated his song “Backseat Driver,” about his daughter, to all the parents in the audience. He also autographed a sign from a young fan that said it was her first Kane Brown concert. He ended off the night with “Heaven,” and to the request of many fans, “Miles On It.”

Extra Innings Festival was filled with country beats and meaningful moments. Let’s “play it again” next year!