Innings Festival 2018 guide: Chris Stapleton, Queens of the Stone Age, Avett Brothers in Tempe

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Innings Festival launches this weekend at Tempe Beach Park with Chris Stapleton, Queens of the Stone Age and the Avett Brothers as headliners.

The three-day festival is produced by C3 Presents, the team behind Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival, as well as The Music City Food + Wine Festival and The Austin Food + Wine Festival.

In addition to 36 performers on three stages, the festival will feature culinary demos with chef Beau MacMillan, curated food vendors, family activities and appearances by professional baseball players.

There's also a Zia Records pop-up shop with hundreds of exclusive vinyl and CD releases, spring-training-inspired Zia merch and meet-and-greets with select Innings artists.

▶ Innings Festival off to an impressive start

Here's a guide to artists on tap.

FRIDAY LINEUP

Queens of the Stone Age - (10:30 p.m. Home Plate Stage)

These stoner-rock icons make channeling early Led Zeppelin seem so effortless (and sexy), led by Josh Homme of Kyuss, who formed the group in 1996.

Their seventh album, "Villains" was the biggest-selling U.S. album of the final week of August, earning raves from several major publications. DIY Magazine hailed its as "the Californian filthmongers’ most danceable offering yet – and all the better for it."

'Uptown Funk' and a little drama

The Queens of the Stone Age perform in the Colosseum at the Arizona State Fair, Thursday, October 30th, 2014 in Phoenix.

At least part of the credit for that danceability should go to producer Mark Ronson. As Homme told Rolling Stone, "If you listen to 'Uptown Funk,' you hear that tight, kind of vacuous dry sound, and that's where I wanted to take this new Queens record."

On the downside, Homme was at the center of a controversy last December after kicking the camera of Shutterstock photographer Chelsea Lauren into her face at KROQ's Almost Christmas concert in Los Angeles.

Cold War Kids - (9:30 p.m. Right Field Stage)

We last saw these California indie-rockers treat a sold-out crowd on the opening night of the Van Buren to a slew of alternative radio hits and an arena-worthy light show.

They broke through in 2006 with "Hang Me Up to Dry" with a debut called "Robbers & Cowards" that made the year-end album list at Rolling Stone.

"L.A. Divine" tour

They're touring on "L.A. Divine," a sixth album that spun off their latest alternative-radio hits, "Love is Mystical" and the Bishop Briggs-assisted "So Tied Up." She's also on the bill that day, so don't rule out a guest appearance.

Craig Finn & the Uptown Controllers - (9:30 p.m. Left Field)

The Hold Steady frontman earned well-deserved raves for last year’s “We All Want the Same Things.” American Songwriter cited its heartbreaking centerpiece, “God in Chicago,” as the best song of 2017.

The album also made a year-end list at FLOOD, which said it cemented Finn's talents as a songwriter, not just in terms of his storytelling abilities, which remain as potent as ever, but also as a chronicler of the American experience."

Young the Giant - (8:30 p.m. Home Plate)

These California rockers sent two singles from their debut album — "My Body" and "Cough Syrup" — to the Top 5 on Billboard's alternative-songs chart back in 2011.

Their third album, "Home of the Strange," added a fourth Top 10 hit at alternative radio to their resume when "Something to Believe In" peaked at No. 9.

Eagles of Death Metal - (7:30 p.m. Right Field)

Led by one of modern rock’s most entertaining front men, Jesse Hughes, these hard-rock veterans are unfortunately best known in the mainstream for having been the band performing La Bataclan in Paris when a terrorist attack killed 89 people.

Their drummer, Josh Homme, rarely tours with them, but he'll be headlining the festival so who knows? Their latest album is 2015's "Zipper Down," which NME summed up as "sexy, fierce and occasionally very, very silly."

Sylvan Esso - (6:30 p.m. Home Plate)

The North Carolina electropop duo addressed the expectations raised by an acclaimed debut head on when they named their second album "What Now."

And they rose to the challenge by pushing the musical envelope in moments as odd as the glitch-heavy opener, "Sound," while making the most of Amelia Meath's breathtaking vocals on tracks as contagious as "Die Young" and "Radio." The A.V. Club called it "a record so good it answers its own title question."

Phosphorescent - (5:30 p.m. Right Field)

It's been four years since they hit us with "Muchaco," a breathtaking triumph that seeps into your brainwaves on the oscillating synths of "Sun Arise! (An Invocation, An Introduction)," and follows through with the majestic chamber pop of "Song for Zula."

The sense of atmosphere is all-consuming but it's Matthew Houck's expressive voice that elevates this music to another plain, the way he mines the pathos of a line as real as "I saw love disfigure me Into something I am not recognizing."

Bishop Briggs - (4:30 p.m. Home Plate)

Born in London to Scottish parents, this L.A. singer-songwriter hit the rock and alternative radio formats hard in 2016 with a handclap-driven triumph of post-Adele soul called "River," which kicked off her promising self-titled debut EP.

The highlight of that six-song calling card is "The Way I Do," her gospel-flavored vocals soaring toward emotional catharsis on a track built on a low-pitched vocal loop and finger pops like something Moby might have done on “Play.”

Mikky Ekko - (3:45 p.m. Right Field)

He's best known in the mainstream as the male lead on Rihanna's "Stay," a Top 5 smash from 2013 that went seven-times-platinum. On his own, he's less likely to come up with seven-times-platinum hits.

But when Ekko delivered a solo debut called "Time" in 2015, the vocals made it clear how he landed that Rihanna gig while the music itself proved both eclectic and accessible.

SATURDAY LINEUP

The Avett Brothers - (10 p.m. Home Plate)

These alternative-country sensations, led by siblings Scott and Seth Avett, turned in a memorable headlining set at McDowell Mountain Music Festival in 2016.

As I wrote at the time, they brought the fest to a "triumphant finish Sunday with a set that effortlessly reaffirmed their standing at the forefront of modern American roots music."

"True Sadness"

A few months later, they released "True Sadness," an album whose highlights include the gospel-flavored "Ain't No Man" and the melancholy folk of "No Hard Feelings."

As Entertainment Weekly noted, their latest Rick Rubin production "both treads familiar ground and maps out new terrain."

The Head and the Heart - (9 p.m. Right Field)

Matt Gervais performs with The Head and the Heart during the March Madness Music Festival at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix on Friday, March 31, 2017.

This time last year, they opened the March Madness Music Festival at Margaret T. Hance Park for country superstar Keith Urban. But that doesn't mean they're country.

They're more on the indie-folk side of the fence, and their best-known single, "All We Ever Knew," enjoyed an eight-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative chart.

The White Buffalo - (9 p.m. Left Field)

The White Buffalo is alternative-country singer-songwriter Jake Smith, a gritty troubadour who Q magazine was moved to size up as "a turbo-charged Bruce Springsteen, equal parts brain and brawn."

Rolling Stone Country said "There's something ancient about Jake Smith's voice.... It's the perfect instrument with which to ponder the secrets of the universe or the ties that bind his fellow humans."

The Decemberists - (8 p.m. Home Plate)

When these Portland-based folkies returned from a four-year hiatus in 2015 with the brilliantly titled "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World," Sound Opinions hailed them as "one of the most important bands of the last decade and a half."

Last week, they returned with the followup, "I'll Be Your Girl," of which bandleader Colin Meloy says, "The songs tend to the darker, more absurdist side of things – I mean, how can you blame us? – and features a lot of nice vintage synth work.”

Local Natives - (7 p.m. Right Field)

These L.A. rockers pulled in raves for their 2009 debut, “Gorilla Manor,” hailed as “a stunning debut, feeling simultaneously familiar and challenging” by MusicOMH.com.

"Sunlit Youth" earned an eerily similar notice from Magnet: "Having carved out a signature sound from the start, Local Natives continue to sound both fresh and familiar."

They also continue to sound like no one else, thanks to Kelcey Ayer's unusual approach to vocals.

Lord Huron - (6 p.m. Home Plate)

What would it sound like if Bruce Springsteen had called Lindsey Buckingham in to produce him on a rockabilly-flavored film-noir soundtrack after listening to Arcade Fire and his own "Nebraska" on a late-night drive across the desert?

It would sound a bit like "Strange Trails."

That could be why Spin found the album "enchanting from start to finish." Or it could just be the haunted sense of atmosphere topped by melodies that leave a mark.

Gin Blossoms - (5 p.m. Right Field)

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of "New Miserable Experience," the jangle-rock triumph that took the Gin Blossoms from Long Wong's to the mainstream.

In looking back on the album last year, Rolling Stone pointed out that producer John Hampton had engineered albums by Alex Chilton and the Replacements, whose blend of "world-weary lyrics" and "ebullient melodies" clearly left a mark.

Their first album since 2010 is due this year.

White Reaper - (4 p.m. Home Plate)

Their latest album, "The World's Best American Band," sets the tone with the sound of a piped-in arena-rock crowd, so yes, they clearly have a sense of humor.

But they also have a knack for coming up with pop hooks that channel the spirit and sound of a previous generation's arena-rock icons, from Cheap Trick to Kiss.

It's fun. And if there's nothing here you haven't heard some variation on before from bigger, older bands, they play it like a new toy, which is nice.

SUNDAY LINEUP

Chris Stapleton - (9 p.m. Home Plate)

Last year, he treated a huge crowd at Ak-Chin Pavilion to a set whose highlights ranged from the practically Townshend-esque fury of his solo on “Second One to Know” to a deeply soulful, gospel-flavored rendition of “You Are My Sunshine,” as sung by his wife.

It was a stunning show of force that made it clear how Stapleton has managed to so effortlessly stand out from the Nashville herd mentality while still bringing the hits.

That tour was in support of the just-released “From a Room: Volume One,” a second album he's already followed with another collection that speaks to the strength of his writing, "From a Room: Volume Two."

Jake Bugg - (8 p.m. Left Field)

This young British songwriter topped the U.K. album chart his first time out with a self-titled effort that hit the streets when Bugg was still 18.

"Hearts That Strain," his most recent release, is an album of soft-rock and country-soul treasures recorded in Nashville with Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach producing.

AllMusic heard an "immaculately arranged set of original songs that all sound like they easily could have been recorded at Olympic Studios in 1970."

Dispatch - (8 p.m. Right Field)

Like many jam-scene veterans, Dispatch play a blend of reggae, funk and folk-rock.

Formed in 1996, they went on hiatus from 2002-2011, returning with "Circles Around the Sun," their first studio album in more than a decade, and an iTunes session in 2012.

Last year's "America, Location 12" included such jam-rocking highlights as the breezy folk-rock of "Only the Wild Ones" and the raucous riffs of "Atticus Cobain." PopMatters praised the album's "air-tight harmonies and eclectic musicality."

Counting Crows - (6:45 p.m. Home Plate)

Counting Crows front man Adam Duritz performs at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, Ariz. August 2, 2017.

Their first album, “August and Everything After,” went seven-times-platinum, mostly on the strength of “Mr. Jones,” a Top 5 entry on the Hot 100 that remains their biggest hit.

Other hits include “Round Here,” “A Long December,” “Hanginaround” and “Accidentally in Love” from the “Shrek 2” soundtrack.

"Mr. Jones" was MIA when they co-headlined Ak-Chin Pavilion with Matchbox 20 in 2017, but the songs they did play sounded great.

Luke Combs - (5:45 p.m. Right Field)

If you're going there Sunday for Stapleton, then chances are you know you need to check out Combs, who was recently voted Best New Country Artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and saluted in Billboard for "arena-ready sonics."

Combs topped Billboard's country charts in June with a debut called "This One' For You" that sent two singles – "Hurricane" and "When It Rains It Pours" – to No. 1 on Billboard's country airplay charts.

Citizen Cope - (4:45 p.m. Home Plate)

Rolling Stone responded to the D.C. singer-songwriter's 2002 debut with "...Cope melds hip-hop with folk, soul and blues...and 'feels' this combination deeply" while the Washington Post called him "the city’s most soulful export since Marvin Gaye.”

Those same elements were still in full effect in 2012's "One Lovely Day," his fifth, although the hip-hop flavor had been dialed back significantly by then. AllMusic praised it for "evoking the lazy, laid-back warmth of a summer day."

J. Roddy Walston & the Business - (3:30 p.m. Right Field)

They're touring on an album called "Destroyers of the Soft Life" that effortlessly lives up to the promise of that title in its more cathartic moments. But those moments hit harder because they're also not afraid to try a little tenderness.

It helps that Walston brings a soulful urgency to the proceedings. And they're even more exciting live. The sight of Walston pounding his piano like Jerry Lee Lewis at his most unhinged could warm the coldest heart.

Tyminski - (2:45 p.m. Home Plate)

This country singer called his latest album "Southern Gothic" for a reason, but he fleshes out his spooky brand of bluegrass with EDM touches, a natural extension of his featured vocal on Avicii's folktronica smash "Hey Brother."

And speaking of "Brother," you may recognize his voice from the Soggy Mountain Boy's take on "Man of Constant Sorrow" from the Coen Brothers movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" He's also a member of Alison Krauss' Union Station.

To see the complete list of bands and lineup by day check out inningsfestival.com/lineup.