The Kilby Block Party 2024 fired next year’s lineup announcement like a cannon shot. The May 10-12 festival will celebrate Kilby’s 25th anniversary and they’re already stacked.
Organizers S&S Presents have nailed their biggest act ever to headline, LCD Soundsystem. They’ve also secured legends like Dinosaur Jr., Belle and Sebastian and Ty Segall. Current acts will include Alvvays, Yves Tumor and Blondshell. And local rising star Little Moon makes the bill.
A representative for S&S tells KSL NewsRadio, they hope to attract close to 30,000 fans per day.
Kilby Block Party 2024 lineup
Kilby Block Party 2024 headliners
We don’t have the day by day lineup, which means no sense yet which bands play opposite each other and the hard choices you may have to make. But here is what we can expect.
The Postal Service and Vampire Weekend headline Friday and Sunday night, though not necessarily in that order. LCD is Soundsystem is the big name likely to close the show Saturday night.
I’ve waited nearly 25 years to see LCD and will be fangirling hard. (LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip were tentatively billed in SLC about twelve years ago but the show fell through). I could see myself missing several shows to worm my way to the front.
We all have decisions to make in life.
Kilby Block Party 2024 major bands
Barely a step down from the headliners are multiple other legendary acts.
Interpol, starting with 2002’s moody Turn on the Bright Lights, enjoyed a ton of influence resetting 80’s post punk in the 2000’s. They’re joined at the Kilby Block Party 2024 by Death Cab for Cutie, who headlined Kilby’s first block party in 2019.
Other great names include Wu Tang Clan, Belle and Sebastian, Dino Jr., Guided by Voices and Ty Segall. A friend points out the reunited CSS, the B52’s of Brazil, are scheduled at Kilby for their first American show in more than a decade!
If you pulled the headliners out of the weekend you would still have a remarkable lineup.
Active bands playing Kilby’s 25th anniversary
Older bands that play the hits sell a lot of tickets. So festivals aren’t always known for new music. Not so next spring at the Utah State Fairgrounds!
Besides the alvvays-amazing Alvvays, the Kilby Block Party 2024 has a number of artists you’ll want to see playing new material. I can’t wait to experience Yves Tumor, whose easy-to-remember 2023 album, Praise a God who Chews But Which Does Not Consume (Or, Simply, Hot Between Worlds), is also a contender for album of the year. We’ve also got Blondshell playing, Beach Fossils and the characters of Andy Shauf’s twee universe.
Add to that list, Unknown Mortal Orchestra visits from Portland and 100 Gecs is playing (although the Gecs’ SLC show this year was very not good). Glitchy Brooklyn art rockers Water From Your Eyes will be there and Courtney Barnett includes Utah in her tour from Melbourne. I enjoyed Panchiko’s Failed at Math(s) and will look forward to hearing them live.
New Utah favorite son (?) Little Moon get a chance at the stage after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. Adam Klopp and Choir Boy also make the cut.
Who isn’t playing Kilby
Last year, S&S left multiple slots TBD, which were ultimately filled by blockbusters like Weyes Blood and Alex G.
At least visually, the Kilby poster shows two open slots. They don’t APPEAR to be the stature of the above. One pending act is sandwiched between Peach Pit and Nevada’s Current Joys. The second unknown band is displayed adjacent to Water From Your Eyes and Tagabow.
We can expect good things but maybe not an epiphany.
What else do I not see? No alt country at Kilby. With such an expansive list of genres at the festival, alternative country seems like a natural; it would kill in Utah. This year, Kilby could have gone after Big Thief, Wilco or Jason Isbell. Drayton Farley or Turnpike. I’m not a Lucero fan but they would make sense in this lineup.
I’m not clear on the thinking.
Kilby Block Party 2024 will rock
More to come at this space. But tickets go on sale December 6.
Your rock and roll dollar still goes pretty far but prices are about 15% higher in 2024. Here’s a quick glance: The 3-day general admission passes were $209 in 2023…they will be $239 next year. 3-day VIP are going up from $299 to $349.
Most major metros across the country don’t have access to this kind of local music festival. Be there!