Kilby Block Party Day One Recap • May 15, 2026 • Utah State Fairpark
Reviewed by Amelia Weyerstall and Kevin Rolfe
Photo Credit listed accordingly
Utah Concert Review has had the great opportunity to cover every Kilby Block Party to date. As a publication, it has been one of our favorite things to witness the growth and success of this festival. The best part is that this festival has never not been good. From the first show on the street outside Kilby Court, to this year’s Kilby Block Party at the Utah State Fairpark that welcomed over 90,000 attendees, the festival has year in and year out been a music festival to be admired. It feels weird to say that a music festival this reputable was a well-kept secret. But if that ever was the case, the secret is out.
Across the country, there is now a buzz when lineup announcements are about to be released. There’s talk of the festival by bands in the lineup, those bands hoping to be in the lineup, and bands that share how happy they are to share their positive experiences having played KBP. Even Ken Jennings, the host of Jeopardy, talked about how much he loves this festival. I don’t know whether a Ken Jennings endorsement is exactly what this festival was looking for or not. But I think he was spot on when he said, “That’s such a well-run festival, like, I don’t even want to give it away to you people. Forget what I’m saying here.”
I will admit that there is a part of me that hopes this festival will always have a personal feel to it. At the same time I have enjoyed meeting people from literally across the country and from various parts of the world who love coming to Salt Lake City for KBP. Even with 90k attending, the 2026 incarnation of Kilby Block Party still has the feel that has made this weekend special. I hope that never changes.
I have a tradition when I get to the Utah State Fairpark to do a lap before I jump into a photo pit and start covering bands. The majority of the weekend is rushing from one stage to another, trying to capture as many bands as possible. So it’s nice to do a lap, take it all in, and feel the excitement of all that will soon transpire over the next few days. People watching is at a premium. The variety of fashion and character is too much to capture with two eyeballs and a camera lens. I could spend the entire festival just sitting and people watching and never get bored. Kilby Block Party is as eclectic as it gets. I’m into it.
Show Me The Body
I made my way over to the Mountain Stage, which for the rest of the year is called the Days of ‘47 Arena. This is where the rodeo takes place. When I walked up the stairs and looked into the crowd, I saw plenty of fans of Show Me The Body fans resemble bucking broncos. It was midday, and the crowd was already wild. A good sign for what was to come.
The crowd was in a frenzy when frontman, Julian Cashwan Pratt jumped into the photo pit and stepped up on the railing to engage with the crowd. Fans were crowd surfing to try to get to him. The sun was beating down but the heat was on that arena floor with Show Me The Body and their fans.
Snail Mail
It was exciting to get into a photo pit for the first time at Kilby Block Party over at the Lake Stage for Snail Mail. It would be my first time running into some fellow photographers. It’s a fun reunion. The combination of seeing many of the photographers here in Salt Lake City and photographers that I only see here at KBP makes for a great reunion. Camera folk from Denver, California, and the East Coast share some of their experiences from the last year since we last met. There was also a nice group of Utah Concert Review alums in the photo pit. It always brings me great joy to see so many who have collaborated with us over the years.
Lineup talk is always a fun topic. Who we liked at this year’s festival, who we would have liked to have seen again, and which year has been the best so far. The best part is that there is no wrong answer. One person may have 3njoyed last year more, but then some think this year was the best lineup. It’s a great discussion.
Snail Mail brought great vibes at the perfect time. They have a good fanbase here in Utah. Playing a festival like this was a perfect place for them. I thought they sounded really good and had a great turnout for their set.
Beach Bunny
There seemed to be a lot of chatter about Beach Bunny. I know several people who couldn’t wait for their set. They took the Kilby Stage, and the crowd went wild. Fans were jumping, crowd surfing, and moshing a bit throughout the set. This brought smiles from the band. They seemed very happy to be in Salt Lake City. And there was no doubt that Salt Lake City was happy to have them.
While the actual temperature was moderately in the mid 70s on Friday, it felt much hotter. There wasn’t much of a breeze, and with the sun right overhead, it started to take its toll on some of the fans. Beach Bunny’s Lili Trifilio stopped their set at least two times, maybe more, when she noticed an incident in the crowd. I’m assuming that having medical personnel called meant that there were some fainting fans. I thought it was great of Trifilio to stop and make sure everyone was ok. Once the coast was clear, they resumed their rocking and performed an very entertaining set.
Kevin Morby
If anyone saw someone looking like a speedwalker, that was me trying to get back over to the Mountain Stage to catch some of Kevin Morby’s set. I made it in time to catch the last few songs. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Morby before, and he always puts on a good show. Kilby Block Party does such a good job of pacing out the lineup so that it’s possible to see just about everyone if you want to. There are those times, like with any music festival, where bands play at the same time, and you have to make a decision. I chose Beach Bunny this time because I hadn’t seen them and was told I needed to. I was glad to make it for at least a few Kevin Morby songs.
Father John Misty
Father John Misty is a great fit for Kilby Block Party. The lineup of KBP is diverse. While most of the bands fit my musical palate, not all of them do. However, Father John Misty is an artist I enjoy seeing on his own tours. So it delighted me to see that he would be playing at Kilby.
Misty opened his set with “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools Of Us All.” In case you’re not aware, the song is almost ten minutes long (Eat your heart out, Taylor Swift “All Too Well”). The moment the song started, not only did the crowd start moving, but the photo pit sort of looked like its own dance party. People were taking pictures and dancing at the same time. It was impressive. The song has an awesome groove. It’s impossible not to get into it.
Father John Misty told the crowd to enjoy this song while it lasts because the rest of the songs were all dark. This made the audience laugh and cheer. Those are the songs we love from him. I don’t think there was a moment in this set that this crowd didn’t enjoy. I wanted to linger in the photo pit for as long as possible. It was so entertaining watching this entire band. They’re so talented, and each had their moments to shine.
Japanese Breakfast
When Kilby Block Party announces its lineup, I’d imagine the first thing everyone does is gawk at the headliners, then make their way through the lineup to see who else will be in SLC. I think Japanese Breakfast stood out more than the headliners when I first saw the list of artists. While Utah Concert Review has had the opportunity to cover this band, I personally have not. I didn’t want to miss this chance.
Japanese Breakfast’s fearless leader, Michelle Zauner, told the crowd that she felt like this lineup was her favorite of any of the festivals they’ll be playing. Which says a lot because they’ll be playing Bonaroo later this summer. This was another band that looked elated to be at Kilby Block Party. Zauner seemed to float gracefully from one side of the stage to another. Never neglecting one side for another. The sun was setting right on the band. It gave them an extra glow.
With Michelle perfectly hitting the gong with her mallat during “Planetary Ambiance,” we were underway with a well-crafted set. I thought Japanese Breakfast sounded amazing. Which brings up another thought. All these bands, all these stages, Kilby Block Party does a masterful job with their sound. I feel like the only time we seem to notice how the sound is going is when there are issues. If there were any issues, they were minimal and addressed quickly. That is no easy task. Anyway, back to Japanese Breakfast. They met all expectations. Sounded great. Performed great. I can see them returning to KBP again.
Modest Mouse
When I saw that Modest Mouse was playing Kilby Block Party 2026, my first thought was “perfect fit.” This is the type of band that embodies what you’ll find in a Kilby Block Party lineup. Unique sound, unbelievable to see live, and crowd favorite songs and moments to make unbelievable memories with.
Modest Mouse is a band that I have had the pleasure of seeing a few times. They never disappoint. They put on a crowd-pleasing show both in their music and through their overall stage presence. There is not a lot of talking, but when there is, it’s funny or engaging. It was unbelievable how crazy the crowd was getting. People were at the railing and reaching as if hoping their reach would make it across the photo pit to touch the band. Instead, they hit my head and were also about 15 feet short of the stage. But I appreciated the desire to make contact.
Despite the long day, these fans were still feeling it. I loved that. Whether they were in the cozy VIP or the general area, the audience loved every song and jumped and danced the whole set through. Of course, the highlight was when Modest Mouse played “Float On.” It’s such a great live song. I find that song so interesting because it doesn’t really sound like most of the other Modest Mouse songs. But it’s great and a great time hearing the fired-up crowd singing along. And appropriately, “floating” fans over the crowd. Turnstile was next, and they were perfectly teed up by Modest Mouse.
Turnstile
The headbanging, mosh pitting Turnstile was the first of three headliners for Kilby Block Party 2026, and wow, did they start the festival out strong. The crowd was losing their minds over Turnstile’s performance, from the songs, to the crowd atmosphere to the interband connections during their set.
The Maryland-based band was not only a band headlining, but also a featured band in the Skull Candy X Fice Gallery X Atiba Jefferson exhibit on the festival grounds, making it extra special for their superfans, who were able to see some behind the scenes pictures of the band. The band was loving playing Kilby Block Party, and thanked the crowd profusely for being there for their set, and made sure everyone was having an incredible time. Lead singer Brendan Yates was running, jumping, and throwing his microphone stand all around the stage. He brought the energy to the festival goers, and they bounced it right back at the band.
It wasn’t just Yates that brought the energy, but the whole band as well. Bassist Franz Lyons was playing on top of the speakers, and encouraging the crowds to scream, guitarists Pat McCrory and Meg Mills were inciting the crowd with their riffs, and drummer Daniel Fang had the beat the crowd was jumping to. The whole crowd was jumping around and moshing, with six plus mosh pits all going next to each other throughout the whole entire set, the vibes were high. Not only were there pits, but also dozens of crowd surfers moving over the crowd from mosh pit to mosh pit; it was like a sea of people under these crowd surfers, with the way they were all swaying back and forth.
Turnstile is known for encouraging and having crazy crowds, and they delivered the energy that the crowd needed to have a ton of fun. It was the perfect way to end the first day of Kilby Block Party.
