‘Dream line-up’: Kilby Block Party celebrates 25 years of beloved music venue

ABC4 met with three Salt Lake City-based bands set to perform at the Kilby Block Party and will be highlighting them throughout the week as a preview of the festival.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The fifth annual Kilby Block Party is on its way — a huge weekend celebrating music, community and most of all, a good time.

It’s a big year for the festival, as it coincides with Kilby Court’s 25th anniversary, a venue that has been pivotal in the local music community.

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The festival started in honor of Kilby Court’s 20th anniversary in 2019 in the neighborhood of the venue and later moved to Library Square in 2022. Last year, ABC4 reported on the festival as it moved to the Utah State Fairpark for the first time due to its popularity.

Nic Smith, the managing director of S&S Presents which runs Kilby Court, said last year’s Kilby Block Party was their biggest and best-attended festival so far.

“We really felt like we succeeded from both a logistical perspective, as well as the overall emotional tone that we hoped for between artists and fans. This was an important moment in our eyes to show off how supportive and special the live music community is here in Salt Lake City,” he said.

Smith said half of the attendees last year came from out of state, or even out of the country.

“I think that we were able to give something fresh to both them as well as our local supporters,” he said.

He added that this year, they’ve made some small tweaks to the layout to enhance the experience for VIP, accessibility, merch lines and crowd flow.

In celebration of Kilby Court hitting 25 years, there will also be an activation at the Fairpark’s Vans Skatepark, a competition featuring both professional and local skateboarders.

Smith said it’s exciting to see how much the festival has grown. This year’s festival will have 70 bands performing on multiple stages, including LCD Soundsystem, Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Vampire Weekend and Interpol. Among them, there will be 13 acts currently based within or initially formed in Utah.

“The scope of Kilby Block Party has grown so much from its original concept to where we are now. In terms of attendance, the festival is seven times bigger than the year one iteration, and we love having that opportunity to pair some of our favorite touring acts with some of SLC’s best local acts. Personally, KBP5 is a dream line-up for us and to have it happening in our city is truly special,” Smith said.

Kilby Court, a small all-ages venue housed in an unassuming alley downtown, started in 1999 and has served the local music community since. It’s hosted many now well-known acts as they were starting out, such as Young the Giant, Doja Cat, Mac Miller, My Chemical Romance and Foster the People.

“This unique placement has offered the perfect atmosphere for artists to host their own events and be loud, expressive, and experimental with like-minded members of our community,” Smith said.

Smith said that with so many touring bands having performed at Kilby Court, it stands as a reminder that every great act also began as a “local band” somewhere. He said many artists and fans “experience Kilby Court during formative periods of their life” which creates a shared “first feeling,” such as hearing a new sound or seeing a loved one perform for the first time.

“Even the tiniest shows at Kilby carry a shared feeling of optimism, beginning, and artistic possibility. In short, it’s just really a cool place and we are eager to celebrate it,” he said. “I personally love getting to watch our SLC locals perform on these large-scale stages. There are also a handful of touring acts that I haven’t seen perform yet, so I will certainly be getting my steps in to catch everyone’s sets that weekend.”

The Kilby Block Party runs from May 10-12. See the full lineup and buy tickets on the Kilby Block Party Website.

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