Ali Berke’s first time visiting Chicago was mostly typical. She did an architecture tour, kayaked on the river, saw the Bean and tried deep dish pizza.
On her last day in the Windy City, the 23-year-old native New Yorker went to Wrigley Field. She didn’t go just for a Cubs game, though, but actually performed the national anthem at the baseball stadium for the Sept. 3 game.
Wrigley was her 12th national anthem performance at a major league ballpark, and she aims to sing at all 30 major league fields in the U.S. and Canada. Berke said she has two more performances lined up for September in Anaheim and Washington, D.C.
“I think Chicago was one of the most exciting ones just because Wrigley Field is so iconic,” Berke said.
Her first opportunity to sing the national anthem for a major league team was when she was 17. A lifelong Mets fan, Berke got to perform at Citi Field in Flushing, New York.
At that time, it was a singular goal — performing the anthem for her home team in front of thousands of fans.
“It was crazy,” Berke said. “I was only 17, and it was my first time ever doing a stadium. I had a lot of excitement but I think more than anything I was anxious. It honestly went so well, though, and I was so proud of myself. It’s still such a big thing for me and a huge accomplishment, and to this day I’m still really thankful that I got to do it.”
Berke said she grew up going to Mets games with her dad, who is also a Mets fan. Because she already had a passion and talent for singing, she decided to submit an audition tape to the Mets to be an anthem performer. She found out about a week before the game that she would be performing.
Her dad, Jack Berke, has been to every game performance, she said.
“It’s super special and something I’ll always hold close to my heart,” Berke said. “I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without him, and I’m really thankful he’s along for the ride.”
Jack Berke, a sports agent by trade, said he’s been in the business for over 30 years and helped his daughter break into the big leagues because he knew she was a performer.
“Just to watch her grow and watch what she’s doing,” Jack Berke said. “She’s on such a unique and unprecedented journey and has so much energy. It’s a thrill.”
He said it was also his first time at Wrigley, and the experience was “surreal.”
Berke said she would like to visit Chicago again to not only enjoy more of the city but also to perform for the White Sox.
After her performance for the Mets in 2017, Berke’s next performance was for the Phillies in 2021. Then it was the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox. Berke said when when she sang the national anthem at Fenway Park last summer that she decided to set a goal of singing at all 30 MLB ballparks.
“I had a thought and did some research and didn’t see that it had been done before,” Berke said. “I was like, ‘why don’t I try to be the first one.’”
She’s also sung for the Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres.
Prior to the major leagues, Berke said she would perform for minor league teams and at events.
Berke has been singing professionally for about 11 years, she said, and went to a recording studio for the first time at age 13. Since then, she has been putting out music, performing and “trying to stay relevant” online to increase her social media following. She posts about her journey to the ballparks on her “Ali The Anthem Girl” Instagram page.
She said she is mainly a pop artist and leans toward pop for her own leisure listening but “loves all types of music,” whether singing or listening.
Although she grew up as a baseball fan and “it’s always fun to go to a baseball game,” Berke said she has gotten more into hockey, football and basketball as she’s gotten older and would love to be able to perform for other sports teams.
She’s already performed for the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and at the Barclays Center for the New York Liberty this year.
Berke said she will continue to work on putting out her own music and increase her following while hopefully hitting all 30 ballparks within the next two baseball seasons. At the top of her list are the Yankees, which she wants to land next season.
She said her favorite part of her national anthem performances is “hitting ‘land of the free’ and holding that note” because the crowd always roars, but each time still feels unique.
“What keeps me going is that every experience and ballpark and team is so different,” Berke said. “You never know that experience, that crowd, which is why I love it.”