The term “stadium tour” usually refers to artists playing their catalog of hits across huge venues, but 23-year-old pop singer Ali Berke – is on a stadium tour focused on a single song.
“The national anthem,” she said. “It’s a song with so much range.”
The song’s range has taken Berke on an adventure across the country. She is on a mission to become the first person to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” in all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums, and her appearance this week at Wrigley Field brought her to an even dozen.
It started with a conversation with her dad, Jack, after she sang at New York’s Citi Field before a Mets game.
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“How cool would it be if we could hit all 30 major league ballparks? We were like, ‘Has anybody ever done that?’ We were researching and researching, and it turns out nobody’s ever done it,” she said. “So, I was like, who better to break the record than me?”
When she’s not breaking records, she’s making them. Berke is a pop singer who has written nearly 100 of her own songs, produced several music videos, and performed at various venues nationwide.
She can be found on Instagram at @aliberkeofficial and @alitheanthemgirl. But she’s made headlines for her stirring renditions of the national anthem.
“Each time, I try and do something different every time, although it really does depend on the ballpark,” she said.
So far, she’s performed at a dozen ballparks, including Citi Field (New York), Fenway Park (Boston), and American Family Field (Milwaukee).
Wrigley Field was her twelfth ballpark. She’s now more than a third of the way to the historic milestone. Usually traveling with her dad and boyfriend, she pays her own way to each stadium; the performance is the payoff.
The Oceanside, New York native says Wrigley is a special place to sing because of the ballpark’s 110-year connection to the American pastime.
“Wrigley Field is just a legendary stadium,” she said. “It’s something that everybody knows. Just looking around and seeing all the original stuff from when it was first built is incredible. It’s surreal to look out and be like, I’m getting to do this.”
Berke is next scheduled to sing in Anaheim, California when the Angels take on the White Sox on September 18. By the end of the season, she’ll have reached 14 stadiums – nearly halfway to the record. Berke estimates it will take two more seasons to complete the ‘Anthem adventure’ to all thirty ballparks.