A red, white, and blue-blooded Long Island singer is on a mission to belt out the national anthem at all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) parks. Ali Berke, known as “Ali the Anthem Girl,” has so far performed at ten major stadiums, each time bringing a different kind of energy for eager baseball fans.
It’s pretty crazy to go and sing in front of 20-30,000 people at a time,” Berke told The Post in a recent interview. All eyes are on you at that point.
Berke will next perform the anthem at Wrigley Field during the Chicago Cubs’ Tuesday game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. She is then scheduled to knock out Angel Stadium and Nationals Park before the end of September, bringing her total number of stadiums to 13 in just one year since she set out on this ambitious goal.
The idea for singing at all 30 Major League ballparks was sparked at the tail-end of summer when Berke performed the Francis Scott Key poem at Fenway Park during a Red Sox game. Inspired by their conversation, Berke and her father began planning this ambitious journey, visiting Chase Field, Oakland Coliseum, Minute Maid Park, Marlins Park, Petco Park, Great American Ball Park, Camden Yards, Citizens Bank Park, American Family Field, and Citi Field.
Berke hopes to accomplish her mission within the next two years. When asked about her favorite stadium, she admitted it wasn’t one of the ballparks; her performance at Madison Square Garden before a Knicks game in April was the pinnacle of her tour so far.
As for personal records, Berke mentioned that she could potentially break her own record for holding the “Land of the free” line for six or seven seconds during her national ballpark tour. However, her favorite part of performing the Star-Spangled Banner is walking out onto the field, surrounded by people honoring their country and having all eyes on her.
While Berke’s ultimate dream is to be more than “Ali the Anthem Girl,” she remains a recording artist with several pop singles under her belt. She took a break from her stadium tour earlier this summer to perform some of her original music at the Jones Beach Bandshell. Her father, Jack Berke, is incredibly proud of his daughter and hopes that one day she will return to these same stadiums for sold-out concerts of her own music.
Through it all, Berke remains determined to use music as a means of helping others. Music has helped me through the hardest times of my life,” she said. So the same way that music has helped me, I hope to help other people.
