Kilby Block Party • Day Three Recap • May 17, 2026 • Utah State Fairpark
Reviewed and Photographed by Amelia Weyerstall
It can be argued that Kilby Block Party Day Three was the best day. Many have told me that this was the best lineup of the three days. I’m sure there are plenty who would say that days one and two were their favorites. That’s the beauty of this festival. They make it very difficult to give us a clear-cut “best day.” One thing is for sure. Day three was the rainiest of the three. But that just added to the fun.
Bad Luck Brigade
Bad Luck Brigade started day 3 strong with a more Hip Hop set from the Salt Lake locals. The crowd was grooving to their beats and jumping to the songs.
Star 67
Star 67 had a more hardcore feel to them than the general vibe of Kilby Block Party, but they had the crowd on the move, with mosh pits and crowd surfers galore. The heavier instrumental rock band had people kicking their feet and having a great time with their fellow crowd members.
Mustard Service
I knew mustard service was going to have a great set when they started talking about each song and introducing it as “Accidentally in Love” from the Shrek 2 soundtrack, and I mean every song of theirs, they said was the song from the movie, until at the very end of their set, they actually did play the song from the Shrek 2 soundtrack, a very funny bit that the crowd was loving. The yacht rock feel from the band matched their jokester personalities well, and was winning over the crowd, definitely creating new fans.
Hannah Cohen
Hannah Cohen stepped onto the stage with one of the most colorful outfits of the whole Kilby Block Party weekend, complete with bows and feathers all over her outfit. The slower, folksy singer added another new genre to the weekend. It was very appreciated by both her fans and the general crowd of the weekend.
Glom
Kilby Block Party was the third show for Glom on their first-ever world tour! They were very excited to be out and touring, and gave the KBP crowd a good mix of their hardcore songs and softer songs, both of which came off their newly released album back in January. The crowd was loving Glom and wouldn’t stop chanting “Glom Glom Glom” and then later in their set, “moms love Glom.”
Smerz
Smerz had the most melancholy set of the bunch for Sunday’s lineup, but they still had a delightfully full stage presence and commanded the crowd with power! Some superfans in the front of the crowd were screaming along and loving the set; it was definitely who they were waiting all day long to see live.
Tops
The extremely upbeat Tops were a pleasant surprise for me! I had never heard of them before seeing the lineups announced, but I had heard good things about the band and was excited to finally see them live. They encouraged the crowd to dance around and have some lighthearted fun! Their songs were very danceable, and the crowd was loving them. Lead singer Jane Penny even had a custom jacket saying “Tops” on the front in cool old jersey lettering like the band just stepped out of the movie “Grease”.
Freak Slug
The Manchester band, Freak Slug, gave one incredible performance, from the absolute rockstar energy to the outfits, and even the teddy bear with the word Slug in rhinestones on it. Lead singer Xenya Genovese had the energy reminiscent of rock legends and reminded me of Yungblud in his early years. It was great to see the same spirit of rock and roll seemingly projecting out of her.
Flipturn
The indie band Flipturn was definitely one of the bands I was most excited to see on the Kilby Block Party lineup, and then see this year. Flipturn’s energetic performance had not only the band members’ smiles beaming but also had the crowd smiling right back at them and singing along to every lyric of their songs, whether it was the highest chart topper “August” or their less well-known songs.
Flipturn’s fun energy doesn’t only come from one or two members of the band, but the band in its entirety, from them all jumping up and down to “Swim Between Trees” to their drummer, Devon VonBalson, putting one of his drums on his head while performing, or taking a tom and cymbal out into the crowd for the audience to hold while he played on them, to the whole band coming around and playing together in a little circle on the stage.
Their set was so wholesome and really showed the friendship the band members had with each other and the fun they had performing, even after being a band for 10 years. It was a very special moment for both the crowd and the band when Flipturn played “August” while it was just starting to drizzle, and the air smelled like petrichor; it totally matched the vibes of the band and the emotions or nostalgia they were evoking for the crowd.
Magdalena Bay
It may have been full-on downpouring when Magdalena Bay waltzed onto the stage, but looking at the crowd, they were having the time of their lives, and I think that the rain made the set even better. The magic that Magdalena Bay brought to the stage was ethereal, and the crowd was going nuts for it. All around the festival grounds, fans of the band were wearing variations of the makeup that lead singer Mica Tenenbaum wears during their performances. The whimsical duo that is Magdalena Bay had all of Kilby Block Party enchanted by their set.
Hayley Williams
Kilby Block Party is the first time that Hayley Williams is playing a festival as just herself! It’s a huge accomplishment for the singer, who even said, “Baby’s first festival,” and jumped up and down. The crowd was loving Williams, chanting “Hayley Hayley Hayley” until she jokingly had to say, “Alright! Quit it !”
Unfortunately, during her set, there were a couple of people who had passed out in the crowd and needed some medical assistance. Right when this started to occur, Williams immediately stopped her set and was reassuring the people around the members of the crowd that needed help that she could see the medics on their way. After it was confirmed that they were all okay, she thanked the crowd for looking out for each other and carried on her set like nothing had ever happened.
Williams’ incredible vocal range had everybody excited to see her set, and she delivered absolutely crushing songs and even played a song from her other band, Paramore. The crowd couldn’t wait to see Williams back in Utah again, and she left them wanting more.
Blood Orange
By the time that Blood Orange had taken the stage, the whole front row of the crowd at the Lake stage had been waiting at the barricade all day to see him play. Walking out with his cello in hand, Dev Hynes took to the stage with a powerful presence that had the crowd cheering louder than I had heard them cheer all weekend long. Everyone was excited for this set.
The bassline of the set was heavy and shook the fans to their bones, but it was clear they were loving it. Hearing “Champagne Coast” live was on the bucket list for a ton of the fans coming to his set, and they weren’t disappointed, dancing along to the beat of the song right as the iconic intro of the song started.
Lorde
Lorde was the long-awaited set of the whole weekend; fans were excited to hear both her iconic generation-shaping hits and her new songs that felt relatable to their current situations. It was Lorde’s first time ever playing in Salt Lake City, and I think she really fell in love with the Kilby Block Party crowd.
Lorde came out on the cold, rainy evening in a black sparkly jacket with “Scorpio” written on the back of it and jeans. During her usual set, she ends up in her boxers, a t-shirt, and without socks or shoes, especially when she starts singing while running on a treadmill during her set. The Sunday night of Kilby Block Party, she went about this same type of outfit change as normal, but about halfway through her set, she started to get very cold, and not wanting to be shivering, redressed into her previous outfit.
The crowd was luckily staying warm from all of the dancing everyone was doing during her songs, and having a wonderful time. Lorde spoke about the seemingly plain outfit compared to what other artists wear on stage by saying how she feels like her most authentic self when playing a show like this. It was a very humble and down-to-earth moment that I think the crowd really appreciated from the headliner.
Everyone has their favorite Lorde song, whether it be “Royals”, “Team”, or “Supercut”, to which she in fact played all of these, and the crowd knew every word to the songs. The really special moments were during the heartfelt songs, which may not have been as popular to the public, but her superfans felt deeply, and the magic of the rain falling during those songs made it feel like the “Iris ” moment from the Goo Goo Dolls. The crowd lit up when they heard the intro to the song “Greenlight” and saw the green laser beams coming off the stage, turning the show into a more synth-pop, fun dancing scene. Everyone was jumping on the grass.
This is what the crowd had thought was the finale, but when Lorde ran down the stairs of the stage to the pit, the crowd all rushed to be as close to her as possible. There was a surprise second stage in the middle of the crowd that no one had noticed before, so it was a lovely surprise for everyone. Lorde then said how the crowd should all get ready to celebrate, grab your friends, and sing one of her most cherished songs, “Ribs”. It was the best way to end Kilby Block Party 2026, surrounded by excited fans, great music, and new friends.
