Kilby Block Party Day 1

Kilby Block Party Day 1 Recap • May 15, 2025 • Utah State Fairpark

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

I remember back in 2019 while attending the first Kilby Block Party, which took place on the street just outside the famed Kilby Court, that this festival had the potential to be a festival that could be comparable to some of the biggest festivals in the country.  The inaugural Kilby Block Party was a one-day event in which Death Cab For Cutie, a band that had played Kilby Court early in their career, as the headliner. The rest of the lineup included bands who as it turned out were on their way to international success.  Bands like The Backseat Lovers, Ritt Momney, and The National Parks, have all become well-established bands. 

I remember being impressed with the attendance, especially for a first-time festival, and I especially recall how well-organized it was.  I’ve been to a number of major festivals and some of them were not as organized as the first KBP.  My hope was that this festival would grow and become emblematic of what the music scene in Utah is actually like.

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

An Evening with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit • May 5, 2025 • Sandy Amphitheater

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Kevin Rolfe

Summer is close.  Do you know how I can tell?  The snow is melting, the grass is greener, the temperature is consistently rising, and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have made a tour stop in Utah.  Sure, sure, I know that they have made the occasional stop in the fall or winter.  But Jason Isbell and his crew in concert has become a summer tradition for their Utah fans.  Sandy Amphitheater opened its season two nights of the An Evening With Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Tour. If Sandy Amp was hoping to make a splash by opening their summer concerts with such a popular artist, they were successful.  But maybe not in the way they expected.

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Post Malone

Post Malone. Big Ass Stadium Tour

Post Malone • Jelly Roll • April 29, 2025 • Rice-Eccles Stadium

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Post Malone’s BIG ASS STADIUM TOUR Opens in Salt Lake City!

It should come as no surprise that Post Malone opened his BIG ASS Stadium Tour right here in Utah.  He loves this place.  And just to continue stating the obvious, the place loves him.  Salt Lake City is Post Malone’s adopted hometown and he has been well embraced since he’s made this area his home base.  When this tour was announced, I wondered if Utah would make the cut.  So often artists that become beloved by Utah start to neglect us on their bigger tour stops.

Sometimes when a stadium tour is announced, Utah will get passed by because we don’t have an NFL-sized stadium so the show would be much smaller than any of their other shows. But if you look at artists like Luke Combs, Garth Brooks, or U2, they still make it a point to come to a state that has loved them from the beginning.  I was very happy to see that Utah would be the first show on the BIG ASS Stadium Tour. 

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The Avett Brothers

UCR On Tour • The Avett Brothers • April 3, 2025 • Idaho Central Arena

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

The Avett Brothers are one of my favorite bands to see live.  They were last in Salt Lake City in July of 2023.  It was an amazing show.  I’ve been anxiously awaiting their return to Utah ever since. Well as you might expect, this band is in high demand.  They’re touring all over the country seemingly all the time.  I recently looked over their tour dates and still didn’t find a Utah tour stop.  But what I did find was a stop in Boise, Idaho. 

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Djo

Djo • Post Animal • April 21, 2025 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Marlo Matamoros

Djo and Post Animal performed at The Complex for a sold-out show on the BACK ON YOU WORLD TOUR. The tour is set to hit major cities around the world such as Salt Lake City, Toronto, Brooklyn, Manchester, Stockholm, Paris, and Amsterdam. They performed here on a Tuesday night in the Rockwell at The Complex. Post Animal is a Chicago-based rock band that formed in 2014. Post Animal is releasing an album this coming July titled Iron. Djo is coming off his The Crux album which was released on April 4th of this year. Djo (Joe Keery) was a guitarist/vocalist for Post Animal before leaving to do Stranger Things. During the formation of the band Joe Keery and the group were roommates in Chicago.  

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Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand • Telescreens • March 31, 2025 • The Complex

Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold

Photo Credit: Morgan Newbold

Early last week, The Complex welcomed Scottish art-rock band Franz Ferdinand for an intimate sold-out show at The Grand on their The Human Fear tour. Hundreds of casual and hardcore fans came out this Monday evening to experience a set full of groovy and electric energy, with plenty of new and old songs to get everyone in the room jumping. The group put on a spectacular show by showcasing their musical expertise and joy of performing, and it was a treat to witness a very integral indie band do what they do best.

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Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol • March 28, 2025 • The Union Events Center

Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe

Photo Credit: Kevin Rolfe

Snow Patrol is a band that I have had on my list of bands I’d love to cover for quite some time.  On Mar 28, 2025, I was finally able to cross Gary Lightbody and the fellas off that list.  Snow Patrol played a hit-filled show at The Union Events Center in Salt Lake City on their North American Tour.  I was so excited to not only be in the photo pit for the first three songs but to watch this band perform.

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Daniel Seavey

Daniel Seavey • Sombr • kylekelly • April 3, 2025 • The Depot

Reviewed by Amelia Weyerstall

Photo Credit: Amelia Weyerstall

Daniel Seavey’s high energy had the crowd jumping so hard that it felt like the floor was going to fall out from under everyone. When The Second Wind tour stopped at the  Depot, fans from all over the state flocked to come see the incredible show.  

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Saint Motel

Saint Motel | Oliver Hazard | March 28, 2025 | The Depot

Reviewed and Photographed by Sam Howard

Friday nights are always a sacred time of the week. It’s the beginning of the weekend, and for most people, it can be the end of a long and hard week. On the night of March 28th, this particular Friday night, the place to be was at The Depot to catch Saint Motel on their Symphony in the Sky tour. With a sold-out show and plenty of fans lining up early to get into the show, there were already signs of this being a fantastic show before the doors even opened. Once doors opened at 7 PM sharp, it wasn’t long until the venue was completely filled. This was going to be a night to remember. 

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Foster the People

Foster the People

Foster the People • Good Neighbors • February 11, 2025 • The Union

Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold

Photo Credit: Morgan Newbold

Last week at The Union Event Center, Foster the People played a loooong-awaited headline show on their Paradise State of Mind tour, returning to Salt Lake City after 7 years! I was really stoked to see them for the first time! They’ve been a staple band for me since I was in middle school, and I know many people who attended were probably also seeing them for the first time. They just released their 4th album last summer, ‘Paradise State of Mind’. This one is such a feel-good, psychedelic, and pure Foster the People-sounding record.

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