Staged Haze Takes Kilby Block Party 2024: Our Recap

Kilby Block Party is still a relatively new kid on the block when it comes to music festivals. The Salt Lake City-based festival celebrated its fifth iteration this year, with headliners Vampire Weekend, Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service and LCD Soundsystem. Compared to other festivals, five years is nothing. Coachella’s been bringing music lovers out to Indio, Calif. For more than 25 years, Lollapalooza’s been around for more than 30. But even with its its relatively short history, Kilby Block Party has proven that it knows what it’s doing.

The festival, held from Friday, May 10, through Sunday, May 12, took place at the Utah State Fairpark, a sprawling 50-acre that’s housed the Utah State Fair every year for nearly 80 years. The location is the perfect size for the festival—it never felt too overwhelmingly crowded (except when LCD Soundsystem took the stage and it was impossible to see anything). It had indoor amenities, like bathrooms to use that weren’t port-a-potties, which is about as luxurious as you can get at a music festival. 

The best part about the festival? The lineup, obviously. With indie rock heavy hitters like Vampire Weekend and Death Cab for Cutie headlining the festival, exciting up-and-comers and plenty of local Utah bands making the state proud, it was a great weekend to celebrate music. 

If Kilby Block Party is already this great to attend just five years in, hopefully it’s only going to get better and better as time goes on. Is it possible to have a perfect music festival? No. But give Kilby Block Party some time and maybe that answer will change.

Day One

Gustaf: I think Gustaf might be my new favorite band? It’s rare to see a set as compelling as the one that the New York City-based art punk band put on early in the day at Kilby Block Party. Honestly. I have never been so immediately captivated by a performance as I was by Gustaf’s Friday afternoon set at Kilby Block Party.

I was aimlessly walking around the festival when Gustaf, and the stage presence of front person Lydia Gammill immediately drew me in. Gustaf’s music is loud, and oftentimes chaotic and frantic in the best possible way. Even if Gustaf’s music wasn’t good, it would be worth checking out the band’s performance just for Gammill’s confident, stylized and magnetic stage presence. Thankfully, Gustaf’s awesome music is a cherry on top of a terrific performance.

Joanna Sternberg: Watching Joanna Sternberg’s set felt like sitting down with an old friend. The folk singer spent every opportunity they had to talk to the audience, talking about movies like “Napoleon Dynamite,” and how beautiful the snow capped mountain backdrop of the festival was. 

It was clear that Sternberg was very appreciative of the crowd, too, who adorably and passionately sang along with the songwriter’s personal and deeply heartfelt acoustic music. At one point, Sternberg even called out “You are the nicest audience,” after a rousing burst of applause. 

Abby Sage: Abby Sage hit new highs this year when the singer released The Rot, her debut album which is in contention for one of the best of the year already. Sage’s stop at Kilby Block Party was the third date on an extremely limited tour. The singer appeared casually cool and supremely confident on stage, performing primarily tracks from The Rot, which was released in March.

The singer’s voice is as good as it is on the album, but sounds more evocative and dreamy live, and her backup band is top notch. There’s not many chances to see Abby Sage live on her current tour, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity.

Blondshell: Blondshell was one of the acts over the weekend that I was most excited to see. The singer-songwriter’s self-titled debut album was one of Staged Haze’s favorite releases last year, and I was so excited to be able to see Blondshell, along with her stellar backing band live. I wasn’t disappointed. The musician’s set kicked off with her band ripping through “Veronica Mars,” a highlight off of the debut album, and then continued to play most of the rest of the songs off of the album throughout her 40-minute set. 

It’s one thing to love an album, and it’s a whole other thing to see it performed live so well. Kilby Block Party was the band’s second time ever performing in Salt Lake City, but there was a massive crowd watching their set, with plenty of people screaming Blondshell’s lyrics back at them, showing that we’re all big fans of the debut.

Luna Li: One of the festival’s most chilled out sets came courtesy of Luna Li, a psychedelic dream pop project put together by Canadian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Hannah Kim. 

We were able to speak with Kim, who performs under the stage name Luna Li, alongside a live band, after Luna Li’s set. Kim spoke about how it was her first time playing with a full band in an entire year, primarily because she recently moved to Los Angeles, while the rest of the band lives in Toronto.

“It was a little windy, a little chaotic, but [the set] was really fun,” Kim said. “The band hasn’t played together with this formation in almost a year, so this was our reunion show.”

The stop at Kilby Block Party was the last in Luna Li’s current tour, where Kim tried out some new skills for the first time. She said that the band’s tour is the first time that she’s played the flute live, an instrument that she first picked up in January.

“I try to practice every day,” Kim said. “When I first picked it up, I had the intention of playing it on this tour, so I was really motivated to get it down.”

Joanna Newsom: Seeing Joanna Newsom sort of felt like a religious experience. The singer, songwriter, harpist, pianist, all around ethereal angel already had a devoted set of fans eagerly waiting in front of the festival’s Lake Stage, some of whom were screaming and crying as soon as Newsom stepped out onto the stage in a red Gucci cape and Gucci tartan-inspired dress. It also didn’t help that the musician’s backdrop was an angelically cloudy sky with the sun breaking through. It literally looked like a painting you’d see in a church. 

But beyond the imagery that evoked the heavens, and the devotional reaction of the musician’s longtime fans, the set felt like a bit of magic. Newsom doesn’t tour that often, she said when she took the stage that it was her first time leaving her kids at home “in seven years,” so this was a rare opportunity for fans to have a live experience. She ran through her discography in the set, playing “Sadie,” off of her 2004 album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, and “Leaving the City,” off of Divers, which was engineered by Steve Albini, a legendary musician and engineer who passed away three days before Newsom’s set. She paid tribute to Albini, dedicating the song “Cosmia” to him, and referring to the late audio engineer as her “hero.”

Like anyone who’s returning to something they haven’t done in a while, there were slight hiccups—a note or two missed on the piano—and that made the crowd scream even louder. She’s just that damn endearing. 

Vampire Weekend: For Bravo fans, perhaps the best part of Vampire Weekend’s hit-spanning set might have been seeing the “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” castmember Heather Gay take the stage to play a game of cornhole with the band. Well, calling it a game of cornhole is a bit of an exaggeration. Gay popped up on stage to much fanfare, and after two failed attempts at throwing a beanbag into the hole on the cornhole board, stepped about one foot away from the board and dropped it in. The impact was the same—the crowd was riveted, and most importantly, Bravo fan and Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio was riveted. Gay walked off the stage sporting a Vampire weekend hat and sweatshirt.

For non-Bravo fans, I’d guess that the best part of Vampire Weekend’s set was the whole thing. It unintentionally served as a run-through of the band’s greatest hits, dropping songs like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” and “Unbelievers” early in the set, although the band is hot off the release of Only God Was Above Us, the band’s fifth studio release.

I’m really impressed by the band’s musicality. It’s always been there, ever since their first release, but it’s even more so on display now—they veer into the jam band territory at times, and it’s surprisingly fun. Rather than a straight up, guitar-facing rock band, Vampire Weekend is incredibly experimental with the instruments they’ve brought along on their tour, from bursting saxophone solos to bringing fans on stage to play the complex piano part in “Connect,” and it’s a blast to watch. 

Day Two

Slow Pulp: The Mountain Stage at Kilby Block Party wasn’t normally overcrowded in the mid-afternoon. That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of dedicated fans for each artist, but it typically wasn’t impossible to squeeze one’s way into a spot near the stage. That wasn’t the case when Slow Pulp started. It was impossible. 

I had just seen Slow Pulp a few days before, in their home state of Wisconsin. The band has been on tour with Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, opening for the two bands as they both tour off of their beloved 2003 albums. It was exciting to see Slow Pulp on their own, not serving as a tour opener, and see the kind of crowd that the Madison, Wisc. natives could pack in, and it was quite a crowd. The band released their second album, Yard, last year. The album’s a moody blend of alt-rock and folk, and songs from it, like “Slugs,” were perfectly suited for the festival.

Bombay Bicycle Club: Kilby Block Party is a rain or shine event—but it’s not a lightning event. Late in the day, the festival was put on hold for a lightning delay, and attendees were encouraged to take shelters in their cars, or in the buildings on the festival grounds. The delay took about 30 minutes, and severely cut into both Bombay Bicycle Club and Santigold’s sets.

Despite that, Bombay Bicycle Club still performed the hell out of the 30 minutes they were able to. The London-based band was originally slated to perform for an hour, but ended up with between 25 and 30 minutes to not cut into Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service’s headlining set. The English band returned from their hiatus five years ago, and since then have released two albums, including last year’s My Big Day. The band’s condensed, nine-song set spanned most of the band’s releases, including two songs off of My Big Day,”—“I Want to Be Your Only Pet” and “Meditate.”

Death Cab for Cutie/The Postal Service:

I feel a bit guilty for grouping these two together — both sets were unique, and really showcased who the artists are (and were, this is a tour celebrating albums from two decades ago, after all) — but at the same time it does make sense. The two bands are composed of (almost) the same members, are both celebrating albums that were released in 2003 and played back to back.

I think that this is a safe space to say that Transatlanticism, which Death Cab for Cutie played in full, and Give Up, which The Postal Service played in full, are two of my favorite albums of all time. It’s the ultimate privilege to see them both live, and a privilege to see the bands in general.

Ben Gibbard couldn’t be a better frontman. He leads both bands with such professionalism and pure talent — I wouldn’t believe that the man has ever put on a bad show in his life. Every single song was played seamlessly. Sure, the bands have had 21 years of practice with these songs, but to perform everything flawlessly is certainly a feat, and the two bands have been doing that night after night as they’ve brought their tour throughout the country.

Day Three

Yves Tumor: My favorite Sunday discovery was Yves Tumor, the recording alias of musician and producer Sean Lee Bowie, one of the most charismatic people that I’ve ever seen on a stage. Bowie’s commanding stage presence is so magnetic, he was able to hold up a microphone cord and spur the crowd into screaming out. 

The band’s music is extremely interesting, it ranges from psychedelic trippy songs, to rollicking hard rock seamlessly. Yves Tumor’s music was also booming—there’s just four members in the touring band, but they found a way to sound so massive, you could have blindfolded me and I would have believed there were 60 different musicians on the stage. It was such an impressive feat. 

Kevin Kaarl: On the contrary, Kevin Kaarl’s set was lowkey and relaxed. The Mexican singer, who hails from Chihuahua, first rose to prominence virtually — receiving more than 23 million Youtube views on a video for his song “Vámanos a marte.”

The folk singer was one of the sole acts singing in Spanish at the festival, kicking off his set with the laidback “como me encanta,” a song off the 2022 album Paris, Texas. Kaarl is an exciting, emerging Latin artist, and seeing him at the festival made me look forward to following where he’ll go next.

Dayglow: There was something slightly jarring about seeing beach balls bouncing through the crowd on Saturday night as Death Cab for Cutie played “Tiny Vessels,” one of the most devastating songs that I’ve ever heard in my life. But the beach balls made perfect sense the following day when Dayglow hit the stage.

The band, the project of musician Sloan Struble, kept the energy up throughout their hour-long set, where they played 15 songs, including an electrifying run through of the song “Hot Rod,” and a cover of “There She Goes” by the English rock band The La’s that bled into “Like She Does.”

100 gecs: As a massive 100 gecs fan, I can admit that the duo’s combination isn’t for everyone. In fact, there were plenty of people who walked away from the band’s crowd during 100 gecs’ first two songs — but I saw plenty walking in and joining the party as well. When it comes to 100 gecs, if you get it, you really get it, and the duo’s large crowd at Kilby Block Party really got it. 

“I didn’t know there were going to be a lot of people here,” said a surprised Laura Les, one of the band’s two members, when 100 gecs took the stage. The gecs ran through a majority of songs from their 2023 release, 10,000 gecs, as well as a large handful from 1000 gecs, which was released in 2019. The duo was fun and engaging in their set, and most of all, funny. Les dedicated “Frog on the Floor,” a song about a frog attending a party, to people who love when music means something to them.

LCD Soundsystem: As the final show of the festival, LCD Soundsystem made it a point to keep the party going throughout the band’s 13-song set, which kicked off with “Get Innocuous!,” a song off of the band’s 2007 album Sound of Silver, which elicited a tremendous amount of cheering and dancing from the band’s massive crowd.

The downside of seeing a band as renowned as LCD Soundsystem is that the stage is going to be absolutely packed. I arrived at the Kilby Stage right as the band started playing, and couldn’t get anywhere near the stage. The sound at Kilby Block Party might be my biggest complaint about the smoothly-run festival — sometimes it was so quiet, but thankfully that wasn’t a problem for LCD Soundsystem’s set.

Pros of Kilby Block Party:

• The lineup! Whoever has been curating this festival’s lineup for the past few years deserves an award.
• It’s held at the Utah State Fairpark — a sprawling, 50 acre festival park that’s so large it never felt too crowded. It also had great amenities, like indoor bathrooms and pre existing concessions selling festival favorites.
• The festival has partnered with the Utah Transit Authority to offer free rides on the city’s public transportation for all Kilby Block Party ticket holders. The city’s tram was super easy to use, and dropped riders off next to the fairpark. 
• You’re able to exit and reenter the festival as many times as you want — what a luxury!
• The local artists on the bill. Sure it’s fun to see beloved bands like Vampire Weekend and The Postal Service, but it was cool to check out some of the Salt Lake City-based artists performing throughout the weekend, too.

Cons of Kilby Block Party:

• The VIP section at both the Kilby Stage and the Lake Stage are massive. That’s great for VIP ticket holders, and even better for VIP+ ticket holders who are able to stand in a reserved area against the barrier, but it really condenses the general admission space.
• The sound could be pretty quiet at some stages. I heard some complaints that in some areas of the crowd, Dinosaur Jr could barely be heard. While 100 gecs was playing, the sound was so low at certain points that I didn’t want to sing along because I could clearly hear myself over the band.

Check out more of Staged Haze’s festival coverage here.