The Antidote to Festival Burnout: Inside the Positive, Pristine Paradise of Kilby Block Party
Our first journey to Utah for Kilby Block Party left us thoroughly impressed. This festival targets real music lovers who gather to dance, smile, and treat one another with genuine kindness. Organizationally, the event runs like a machine. Held at the beautiful Utah State Fairpark, the venue features a stunning mountain backdrop that elevates the entire aesthetic.
A decisively positive vibe defined the weekend. Attendees arrived early—doors opened at 11 AM—packed every stage, and kept the environment spotless by cleaning up after every single set. Lines for the restrooms and merchandise moved with patient efficiency. Most refreshing, however, was the lack of excessive cellphone use; fans recorded short clips and promptly put their devices away to remain present. The atmosphere at Kilby simply sits at the top tier.
The lineup delivered an indie lover’s dream scenario. We caught an immense amount of music, structured across three packed days.
Day One: Art, Advocacy, and Unmatched Energy
Friday kicked off with Gelli Haha, who delivered a colorful, visually stunning piece of performance art overflowing with energy. Next, Hotline TNT brought their signature wall of fuzzed-out guitars and heavy indie-shoegaze melodies that gripped the early crowd. Ireland’s own NewDad followed, charming the audience with their lush, dark dream-pop textures and shimmering post-punk baselines, expressing immense gratitude for their reception.
We then headed over to catch the sharp, deadpan spoken-word poetry and jagged post-punk of the UK’s Dry Cleaning, followed by the raw, chaotic punk rock power of Die Spitz. Show Me the Body kept the adrenaline high with a characteristically heavy, confrontational performance, leading directly into a fantastic, groove-heavy set by another ListenSD favorite, Drugdealer. Beach Bunny injected the afternoon with infectious, high-energy indie pop, before Father John Misty captivated the field with an impressively beautiful, theatrical folk-rock performance.
The biggest surprise of Friday belonged to Pattie Gonia, who delivered the first-ever drag performance in Kilby history. A record crowd of 5,500 people gathered to cheer, sing, and rally behind a powerful call for unity, tolerance, and social justice. The entire audience connected deeply with this message of love and community activism; we cannot wait to see her perform again.
As the sun began to dip, Japanese Breakfast took the stage, delivering an always impeccable, visually radiant indie pop set. Finally, we closed out the night with Turnstile, whose raw, driving hardcore energy remains completely unmatched.
Day Two: Seamless Navigation and Historic Returns
What makes Kilby such an appealing festival is its brilliant layout. The stages sit reasonably close to one another with minimal scheduling overlap, making it incredibly easy to navigate and catch back-to-back acts.
We started Saturday with the experimental, industrial-tinged rhythms of YHWH Nailgun, caught a bit of the driving indie rock from local emerging talents The Kilans, and then rushed over to see LA’s synth-punk trio Automatic. Having followed this band from their earliest days, watching their creative evolution and sharp live craft over the years feels incredibly rewarding. They pulled a massive, early crowd that danced through the entire set, cementing their performance as a major weekend highlight.
Following that dance-heavy hour, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah delivered a remarkably sharp, clean nostalgic set. Ben Kweller then graced the stage, bringing his classic, heartwarming early-2000s indie-folk charm and spirited piano-pop melodies that had the crowd singing along. We found ourselves thoroughly surprised by Between Friends, who commanded a massive audience that jumped in unison through their bedroom-pop bops, followed by a thoroughly fun, surf-rock-tinged set from Dehd.
Then came The Last Dinner Party, and we absolutely loved every second of it. Vocalist Abigaille Blake possesses an incredible, magnetic command of the stage that left us completely awestruck. Lucy Dacus followed with a huge, emotionally charged crowd. In a spectacular turn of events, she brought out Romy from The xx to join her for a stunning rendition of her track “Bullseye.”
To close out the night, we witnessed the highly anticipated return of The xx for their first performance together in eight years. Standing in front of Romy Madley Croft, Jamie xx, and Oliver Sim felt like heaven. The trio genuinely enjoyed their time on stage, radiating warmth as they traded vocal harmonies and minimalist beats. We danced until exhaustion hit, completely happy.
Day Three: Weathering the Elements for Indie Royalty
The final day proved that rain and biting wind cannot deter this crowd. Despite dropping temperatures, fans showed up ready to close the weekend strong.
We kicked off with the melancholic harmonies of Folk Bitch Trio, caught a fantastic performance from Starr 67, and then moved into a highly entertaining, jazzy indie set by Mustard Service. Next came the brilliant songwriting of This Is Lorelei, followed by the cool stylings of Hannah Cohen and the experimental Norwegian electronic duo Smerz.
Right after, we hit our absolute standout set of Sunday: French artist Melody’s Echo Chamber. She transported the entire field into a completely different dimension with her gorgeous, psychedelic dream-pop soundscapes. The band played a remarkably tight, flawless set that left everyone floating.
The evening continued with a very cool performance from Freakslug, followed by midwest emo legends American Football, who packed out the Mountain Stage. They stunned the audience by bringing out Hayley Williams for an elegant, eerie live duet of their collaborative track “Uncomfortably Numb.”
Flipturn kept spirits bright with an incredibly fun, upbeat performance. Then, KennyHoopla took the stage and delivered an insanely cool, high-octane performance. His super energetic, completely wet set had the crowd matching his explosive intensity despite the elements.
Directly after that adrenaline rush, and in the face of a steady downpour, Magdalena Bay played to a packed, rapturous crowd, using their shimmering dream-pop to make everyone forget the freezing weather.
Fans waited for hours to witness Hayley Williams make her official solo festival debut, and the sheer volume of people gathered for her explosive, career-spanning set felt absolutely insane. Blood Orange then took over, getting the entire park swaying and singing along to his smooth, R&B-infused grooves. Finally, Lorde closed out the festival with a burst of pure, high-energy pop euphoria—exactly the triumphant goodbye we needed.
Kilby Block Party officially holds a piece of our hearts. Between the immaculate organization, the breathtaking mountain views, and a crowd that values community just as much as the music, this weekend set a new standard for what a music festival can be. We are already counting down the days until we can return to this positive, gorgeous festival. Utah, you absolutely blew us away.
