Belting out the national anthem at a Major League Baseball game is a bucket-list moment for many vocalists.<\/p>\n
For singer Ali Berke, known as \u201cAli the Anthem Girl,\u201d it\u2019s become a cross-country mission.<\/p>\n
The Long Island, N.Y., resident sang \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner\u201d on Wednesday at PNC Park before the Pirates took on the Arizona Diamondbacks. It marked the 23rd MLB ballpark in her quest to perform at all 30 stadiums in the league.<\/p>\n
Berke had never been to Pittsburgh. She woke at 4 a.m. Wednesday to catch a flight from LaGuardia Airport and spent only a few hours in Pittsburgh before returning home.<\/p>\n
Before the first pitch, Berke gave little indication she was about to sing in front of thousands of fans. She relaxed in the Pirates\u2019 administrative offices wearing jeans and a hoodie before changing into a custom-made Pirates jersey and making her way onto the field.<\/p>\n
Once at the microphone, she confidently hit every note, drawing applause from the crowd. She smiled, waved and was on her way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a beautiful skyline and great ballpark,\u201d she said afterward.<\/p>\n
The anthem tour started as a side venture to build her brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a recording artist,\u201d she said. \u201cI always thought of it as more of a side quest to build my resume and get my name out there. It\u2019s definitely been working.\u201d<\/p>\n
The publicity has helped introduce her to new audiences, but the experience has taught her lessons beyond exposure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned nothing is impossible,\u201d she said. \u201cThe national anthem is one of the hardest songs to sing. I\u2019ve learned so much about balancing my life and my careers \u2014 same-day flights, early mornings, late nights. It\u2019s taught me how to balance it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berke and her father, Jack, who works as a sports agent, arrange the travel, booking flights and coordinating with ballclubs months in advance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reach out to teams, send videos of performances I\u2019ve done before and basically do virtual auditions,\u201d Berke said. \u201cIt\u2019s really been me and my dad making it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 25, balancing life means more than hopping on airplanes. Berke works multiple jobs \u2014 at a recording studio, in a medical office and doing office work \u2014 while continuing to write and record her own pop music.<\/p>\n
The anthem, she says, is only one chapter in her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope fans take away that this is part of my career, but it\u2019s not my whole career,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter I finish all 30 parks, I\u2019m ready for that chapter to close and really focus on my original music.\u201d<\/p>\n
That musical journey started when she was 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my dad one day, \u2018I want to record music,\u2019 \u201d she recalled. \u201cOnce I became serious about vocal lessons and recording in the studio, the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stadium tour started after she received an opportunity to sing at a New York Mets game in 2017 when she was just 16 years old. A few years later, opportunities opened with the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies in 2021, followed by the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that point,\u201d her dad said, \u201cI said we should try and do all 30 ballparks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of her favorite performances come from singing the anthem at games other than baseball, including at Madison Square Garden before a New York Knicks game and in Buffalo before a Bills game. The Garden felt like a hometown performance, and the Bills are her favorite football team.<\/p>\n
The journey has been as demanding as it has been rewarding.<\/p>\n
Performing under the social media moniker \u201cAli the Anthem Girl,\u201d Berke sang at nine ballparks in 2024 and six more last year before a few more this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of snowballed,\u201d Jack Berke said. \u201cI kept making connections and pursuing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along the way, his daughter has checked off iconic venues such as Wrigley Field and even appeared on Chicago\u2019s WGN television station, helping spread the word about her quest.<\/p>\n
Among baseball venues, Wrigley Field and American Family Field in Milwaukee stand out, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMilwaukee was probably the first time I felt 100% confident singing the anthem,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was about three years ago. Wrigley was a lot of fun, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her father has been by her side throughout.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing these one by one,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re contacting each team separately and working through logistics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Confidence matters when performing a song many vocalists consider deceptively difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of people don\u2019t realize it\u2019s one of the hardest songs to sing,\u201d Ali said. \u201cIt takes a lot of practice and a lot of time and energy to perfect it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the crescendo every audience waits for: the climactic \u201cland of the free.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt depends on how my voice is feeling,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cI try to hold it as long as I can until I run out of air.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only seven more MLB stadiums remain before she completes the tour: Seattle, Toronto, Texas, Colorado, Atlanta, Detroit and Yankee Stadium. She is scheduled in Detroit on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n
When it\u2019s all over, she\u2019ll happily retire from anthem performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019d ever grow tired of America\u2019s song because I\u2019m proud to sing it,\u201d she said. \u201cBut after 30, I\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Wednesday\u2019s performance at PNC Park may have lasted barely 2 minutes, it represents years of planning, thousands of miles of air travel and countless hours of practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited to get one step closer to my goal,\u201d Berke said.<\/p>\n
The national anthem was never the end game.<\/p>\n
She believes it\u2019s the opening act.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Belting out the national anthem at a Major League Baseball game is a bucket-list moment for many vocalists.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-257028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}