March Madness Music Festival brings national artists on Final Four Weekend

March Madness Music Festival brings national artists on Final Four Weekend

By: Kevin Vickery

On April 3-5 the city of Indianapolis was buzzing with excitement surrounding the Final Four NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium, featuring the UConn Huskies vs the University of Illinois Fighting Illini as well as the University of Arizona Wildcats vs the University of Michigan Wolverines. 

Meanwhile a few blocks North at American Legion Mall, thousands of music fans were able to enjoy the March Madness Music Festival featuring national headliners like, Twenty One Pilots, Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney, and Post Malone.

With the NCAAA National Headquarters being located in Indianapolis, each year, the March Madness Music Festival transforms Final Four weekend into a city-wide celebration where the energy of the tournament meets the power of live music, and this year was no exception. 

In addition to the headliners, fans were also able to enjoy R&B artist, keshi and alt/hip-hop duo, Joey Valence & Brae at Friday’s AT&TBlockParty, R&B/pop singer-songwriter Ravyn Lenae, and genre-blending artist BRELAND at Saturday’s Coca-Cola Live, and singer-songwriter/actor Dominic Fike, at Sunday’s Capital One JamFest.

When the line-up was announced I knew I would be taking my daughters to see their favorite band, Grammy Award winners, Twenty One Pilots.

If you’re not familiar with the group, I should say that I’ve spoken with fans who describe their sound as “too broad to be defined” and I understand where they’re coming from as the group has evolved over the course of their eight album catalog spanning 17 years. Band founder, primary singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Tyler Joseph pulls from a variety of styles when creating their music.  His vocal style lends itself equally to emotional ballads and straight rock tunes as it does to his frequent rap segments, reggae vibes, and occasional scream-style singing. After discussing it thoroughly, my oldest daughter, Alice and I agreed that they could best be described as equal parts alternative-rock and indie-pop-rock.

My girls have both seen Twenty One Pilots several times but this was my first.  They had not before experienced all the pros and cons of a giant, general admission outdoor music festival so I had to give them a pep-talk about all the essentials like: not getting as close to the stage as they’ve been able to in the past, not having an actual seat, standing for hours, being compressed against smelly concert goers, port-a-Jon’s, parking God-only-knows-where,  walking and standing, standing and walking and more walking and standing.  They said they were ready for the challenge and didn’t want to miss their favorite band so plans were made to depart for the American Legion Mall immediately after school on Friday, April 3rd.

The date itself wasn’t particularly convenient with it being Easter weekend and trying to cram a three day music festival into an already full schedule had its challenges as well, especially once I was talked into returning on Sunday because they also wanted to see Dominic Fike.  I shouldn’t complain.  At least they’re not Post Malone fans and skipping his set got us back home hours earlier. It was a school night, after all.

Wait, what were the pros again?  Oh yea, it’s free, and it’s their favorite band.  Got it.  I needed to stay focused on that, keep my eye on the prize and go make some memories, people! Sorry that was the pep-talk I had to give myself to make it through the weekend’s events that drew an estimated 100,000 people over the course of the three day event.

On Friday afternoon, we were actually able to use street parking relatively close to the venue so that was an unexpected money and time saver.  The weather was also pleasant which was a bonus because the forecast hadn’t been great as I monitored it throughout the week.

We walked in just in time for the beginning of the show featuring Joey Valence and Brae whose Earth shaking bass tracks coupled with nasal rap style seemed to be a hit with the twenty-something crowd but not so much for the girls and me.  Don’t get me wrong – I can appreciate some white-guy rap music but these guys were far from providing the lyrical precision, technical precision and super-speed flow of someone like Eminem or the punk infused, rapid-fire verses of The Beastie Boys although you can tell they are influenced by the latter. Their hits, “Punk Tactics” and “The Baddest” have given them popularity with the TikTok crowd and kept the young party crowd jumping.

While they were dropping their bass-heavy beats, the audience was dropping like flies.  Their set was interrupted twice by medical crews fighting their way through the crowd to assist concert goers fainting in during the show. This seemed a bit odd since it wasn’t particularly hot outside and it was early in the evening.  I think many in attendance who had waited in line all day to get inside the gates may have not pre-partied responsibly as this theme of stopping the show for medics to attend to passed out patrons continued throughout the night with all the other acts on the bill as well.

Up next was keshi who entertained the crowd with his tasteful bedroom-pop tunes.  His style incorporates heartfelt lyrics of love and loss set to hip-hop beats, with melancholic melodies, vulnerable, falsetto vocals and some intricate guitar work.  He wasn’t really my cup of tea but we all agreed that he was pleasant to listen to and the crowd really enjoyed his set featuring songs, “Say”, “Kiss Me Right” and, “Bodies” very much.

By the time Twenty One Pilots was ready to take the stage my girls were nervous with excitement the way you’d expect if a boomer was about to see Elvis or the Beatles in their prime or how a Gen-Xer might act if Prince, Michael Jackson, Eddie Van Halen and Kurt Cobain all came back to life and formed an angel band.

The rest of the crowd was equally excited to see the Grammy-Award-winning duo take the stage and deliver their high energy set that included hits like, “Stressed Out”, and “Ride”.

You’d be hard pressed to get Alice and Delia to pick a favorite song as they love every single one but for me, in addition to Twenty One Pilots earlier , bigger hits, I’ve grown partial to “Drum Show” which featured drummer, Josh Dun climbing to the top of an offstage scaffold at least 50 ft tall to play a second drum set positioned there.

For me, the most unique thing about Twenty One Pilots is their dedicated fan base or “Skeleton Clique” as they are known and their dress code for attending shows. Their attire stems from the lore associated with the band which exists as a long, fictitious back-story spanning several years told through the band’s music videos, song lyrics and album titles.  

I was informed I needed to wear an olive colored or camouflaged shirt with yellow duct tape crisscrossed in an X pattern on the front and another piece around my left knee which made me a “Bandito” lead by the “Torch Bearer” who is the aforementioned drummer, Josh Dun while the girls wore red tape over the shoulders of their shirts and red make up under their eyes to sport the look of Tyler Joseph’s character Nico or “Blurryface”, the leader of the Bishops.  Tyler and Josh themselves also wear dark masks and hoods for parts of the show as well as black makeup on their hands and neck as part of an effort to create something faceless, and shift the focus to the music rather than fame, allowing the audience to make the music their own.

Personally, I’m more of a black shirt and jeans guy when it comes to concert wear and I just appreciate well written songs with good grooves and catchy melodies performed by skilled musicians. Twenty One Pilots also does a fine job of providing all that, packaged into an intense and dynamic, live show so that even an old guy like me can enjoy the experience while their younger fan base geeks out over how they incorporate the story-line into their performance.

We did not return the next day as we had other Easter duties to attend to which was fortunate because Saturday’s March Madness Music Festival crowd was treated to an evening of standing in cold wind and rain to take in the Zac Brown Band performance. 

Honestly, the weather and other obligations weren’t even the primary factor in not attending.  After standing for 6 solid hours on Friday, my old-man-knees ached so badly that It wouldn’t have mattered if Christ himself was rising from the grave on stage, I couldn’t have physically withstood any more walking and standing to witness it for a second day in a row.

We retuned on Sunday a little wiser having already been there and better knowing the lay of the land.  We managed to score the same street parking as before and arrived before the gates opened so we were able to get even closer to the stage than we were on Friday.

The show opened with a British DJ act known as TroyBoi. At the risk of sounding old, I don’t really understand the draw of watching a DJ turn knobs and push faders on a mixing console. I know that in a dance club setting, the DJ can make or break the success of the experience and be an integral part of the club’s popularity, but for me, in a live concert setting, it doesn’t work.

The mixes of his beats combining trap, house, and dubstep were so bass heavy that we could literally feel our bodies vibrating from the inside out with frequencies so low that they can only be produced electronically as no musical instrument can create those tones. Past that, he mostly mixes in samples of other people rapping and some sound effects into what basically seems like one 45 minute long song, accompanied by some trippy video imagery.  

Troyboi’s set did take on a more interesting vibe when he featured a special guest live rapper for one segment but I did not catch his name and can find no mention of it anywhere online.  Like I said, I know that I’m way too “get off my lawn!” for this particular style but even the twenty-somethings in the audience seemed to just be bobbing their heads through it while waiting for the bigger artists that they had come to see.

Up next was who we (and by that, I mean Alice) had come to see.  Frankly, before the show, I couldn’t have picked Dominic Fike out of a line-up but have since learned that he is best known for his 2018 single “Babydoll” from his debut EP “Don’t Forget About Me Demos” which is currently climbing the charts again largely due to a 2026 music video release for the song. 

I would describe his pop-alt-indie-rap-rock sound as having a modern day beach vibe reminiscent of bands like Sugar Ray, Sublime and the Red Hit Chili Peppers, the latter of which was one of Fike’s earliest influences.

I thought his songs were catchy and I liked his show.  His on-stage presence is informal, a bit skattery, very personable and entertaining. His band was tight and I enjoyed his show much more than I would have expected.

Alice was glad to hear some of her favorite Dominic Fike songs, “Ant Pile”, “West Coast Collective”, and “Politics & Violence” but was disappointed that he didn’t play others like, “Açaí Bowl”, “7 Wonders” and, “Sick”.

For what it’s worth, he is considered by many to be one of music’s most compelling up-and-coming artists.  All I know for sure is that even though I’m not Fike’s target demo, I still found his set to be entertaining. The younger crowd sang along to his songs word-for-word and really seemed to dig him. My girls, especially Alice, most definitely did.

On the March Madness Music Festival as a whole, my daughter, Alice said, “I really liked it.- Twenty One Pilots was awesome and it was my first time seeing Dominic Fike. – He was great and I hope that they have that festival again next year because I’d like to go back again!”

Her younger sister Delia added, “I liked it but I wish they made all the tall people stand behind all the shorter people because I could barely see anything even though we were up close.” 

I would add to that sentiment that it seems a lot of people have forgotten or perhaps never learned a basic lesson in concert etiquette so please allow the following to serve as public service announcement for educational purposes.

When you attend a general admission (G.A.) show or even stand in a G.A. section of a ticketed event, (commonly known as “the pit”), you are entitled to your space that you have earned by waiting in line for hours and running with the masses when the gates open to get as close to the stage as possible. The people in front of you earned their position as did those behind you.  You will stand closer to those people than you’d prefer and will be able to identify them by their fragrance but that’s ok because you’re all in this together.

You are also entitled to leave your position. If you need a beverage, a bathroom break, or standing in the crowd has just become too much, then by all means, turn around, say “excuse me” and people will part shoulders for you to escape.

Here is the important part.  You are NOT entitled to come back to that position.  In fact it literally ceases to exist the moment you have vacated it.  Others in the crowd are now allowed to step forward, get a little bit closer, and absorb what was once your space.

You are not allowed to try and snake back through the crowd and reclaim your space later in the show.  You traded it for bathroom privileges or a seven dollar soda so now you go to the back. Period, no exceptions.

You are also not allowed to show up hours later than everyone who put in the time to secure their space and then push and wiggle your way past them to try and get closer, while saying something like, “Hey OG, I’m just gonna squeeze past you, my man. – my crew is right up there.”  

It’s unacceptable and rude.  Don’t do it.

Past that, I would still say it was a good experience for us all and thankfully we were still able to get back to Henry County at a somewhat decent hour on a school night.

I would also add that the with the star-studded lineup, the 2026 NCAA March Madness Music Festival succeeded in creating a free three-day celebration of music, culture, and college basketball and offered unforgettable moments for fans in the capital city just blocks away from the biggest games in college basketball,  proving the road to the Final Four doesn’t only bring those big moments in college hoops but it also delivered one of the most eclectic live music events of the year.

Once the games had all been played and Michigan was crowned as the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Champions, I believe the city of Indianapolis did its part to welcome and entertain the estimated over 70,000 visitors who made their way downtown for the weekend’s events and treated them with the good ol’ Hoosier Hospitality that we’re known for sharing.

If you are unfamiliar with American Legion Mall in Indianapolis, it is a two-block park that stretches between St. Clair Street and North Street, between Meridian and Pennsylvania Street that is part of the Indiana War Memorial Plaza, featuring memorials for World War II, the Korean and Vietnam War, along with the Cenotaph honoring WWI’s first casualty, Corporal James B. Gresham. 

It is a significant civic space for live events bordered by the American Legion’s national headquarters to the East and the Department of Indiana headquarters to the West, with grounds open for public access and self-guided tours. 

The park is a central part of the larger Indiana War Memorial Plaza Historic District, which includes other monuments like the Soldiers & Sailors Monument.   If given the opportunity, I would very much like to visit there again and explore the American Legion Mall without the distractions of a giant live event in progress.

For more information about The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) visit their official websites at ncaa.com and ncaa.org

For more information about the tour schedules or purchase licensed merchandise from the artists of the 2026 March Madness Music Festival you can find them on all social media outlets or their official websites at:
http://twentyonepilots.com
http://postmalone.com
http://zacbrownband.com
http://meganmoroney.com
http://dominicfike.com
http://keshimusic.com
http://jvbsucks.com
http://ravynlenae.com
http://brelandmusic.com