Have you been to the Utah State Fairpark? Possibly not, you’re an urbane city-dweller with limited interest in competitive lamb grooming. Kilby Block Party parking just got a lot easier — so read on to learn about paid parking and free transit. I’m basically here to make your musical adventure easier at the Kilby Block Party.
Kilby Block Party parking: You have options
Yes, you have Kilby Block Party parking options, but I don’t recommend them all.
A one-day parking pass from the Kilby Block Party for the shows May 12-14 are $40 per day. General admission to actually HEAR THE MUSIC on those same days is $89. We’re more or less talking about an additional 50% on top of your ticket price. This seems unwise.
Wisdom aside, if the sheer convenience of parking in the state park fairgrounds outweighs other considerations, you can invest in $40/day parking passes or $100 parking for the 3-day event. Either way you’re adding about half of the cost of your ticket price for the Kilby Block Party to park at the fairgrounds. Here is the link to buy those parking passes.
Lots nearby for Kilby Block Party parking
My experience with random lots near the fairgrounds — for events much less in-demand than the Kilby Block Party — is $20 or $30 per event. Real estate is pretty limited and they know the market is nearly cornered. You’re also walking a block or two or five. Also you’re traversing the hellscape that is west North Temple Street at midnight.
I don’t recommend this either.
Kilby delivers with free Trax passes!
Earlier this month, concert organizers notified ticket-buyers that they could ride to the KBP4 for free from any location. This means you could park in a Trax Park & Ride lot as far north as Pleasant View or a Frontrunner station in Provo and commute to the Fairgrounds without paying a dime. I work downtown so I can park near the Arena station and get there in 10 minutes.
From the Fairgrounds Trax station it’s maybe 100 yards to a park entrance. I’m going to check my math on this Saturday to be sure — I’ve actually only taken Trax to the airport and not to the fairgrounds. I also need to learn if you can enter the park immediately across from the station, at the 801 Events Center or if the only entrance is at North Temple and 10th West.
Information on Trax Park & Ride lots and Frontrunner routes are here. More information to come to make the Kilby Block Party as safe and convenient as can be!
I hope you get to see the Kilby Court Cuco show opening the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. He’s so good, I could have included him in my 2022 Top 20 albums. Here’s what you need to know about the bedroom pop singer Cuco + a couple of songs from 2022’s entrancing Fantasy Gateway.
Kilby Court Cuco concert a nice start to Kilby Block Party Friday lineup
The singer Cuco — he uses the handle cucopuffs on the Insta — got his pet name from his mother while growing up in Hawthorne, California. Omar Banos has written lyrics both in English and Spanish since his early releases, Wannabewithu (2016) and Songs4u (2017) as a budding songwriter and Spotify phenom. His bedroom pop full length debut was 2019’s Para Mi.
By 2022, Banos was incorporating more elaborate orchestration on Fantasy Gateway as he felt his way into new territory. You can hear why the Kilby Court Cuco appearance came together. I’m not posturing — this was a favorite album of mine last year.
The intimate “Time Machine” has such a pure singer-songwriter inside that you can’t help but fall in love with the kid.
Sing along Kilby Court Cuco show in Spanish. Singer Cuco is bilingual pop star
One of the reasons I was taken aback by Fantasy Gateway was the sophisticated lyricism you’ll hear at the Kilby Court Cuco show. Sure there are the ridic catchy samples and chorus on last April’s “Caution” … then he steps into a mix of English and Spanish on the smooth R&B-via-soft 70’s “Aura.”
Here is the Spanish verse:
Ves que me causan celos cuando te habla alguien más Nunca te quiero lejos, la distancia me hace mal Eres siempre el tema del que quiero platicar Hechamos fiesta solos, nos ponemos a bailar
…in which the singer Cuco is singing:
You see that they make me jealous when someone else talks to you I never want you away, the distance hurts me You are always the topic I want to talk about We party alone, we start to dance
I expect most of the Kilby Court Cuco show at the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup will be in English. But Utah has plenty of Spanish speakers and returned missionaries to go cukoo for cocoa puffs. I’m looking forward to hearing fully Spanish numbers from the singer Cuco, like the gorgeous “Fin Del Mundo” (“End of the World”).
Be at the Kilby Court Cuco concert. You’ll go cukoo for cocoa puffs
Final note, whether you’re a 19-year-old kid reading this on the Insta or a jaded 50-something like me listening to bedroom pop singer Cuco for the first time…get to the Kilby Block Party on Friday. I recommend Fantasy Gateway without reservation and can’t wait to see him kickstart the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup!
FRIDAY: Japanese Breakfast, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Cuco… SATURDAY: Run the Jewels, Weyes Blood and Alex G… SUNDAY: The Walkmen, Parquet Courts and what I predict will be a legendary show by Pavement.
Oh also on Sunday, The Pixies, whatever that means anymore.
If you’re wondering what day to spend your hard-earned rock and roll dollar, this may help. No times but generally your marquee acts will play later in the day.
The Kilby Block Party Friday (May 12)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Japanese Breakfast
Cuco
Deerhoof
Also on Friday: Dominic Fike, Remi Wolf, Lucius, Ritt Momney, Frankie Cosmos, Jean Dawson, Alice Phoebe Lou, Westerman, Julie, Momma, NoSo, Miya Folick, The Plastic Cherries, Homephone, Sunhills
So, good news right now, the only sold out tickets are 3-day Super VIP and Saturday Super VIP. Standard 3-day VIP tickets and 1-day VIP tickets for Friday and Sunday are still out there. Honestly, I’m not sure why I did the Super deal, the standard 3-day VIP tickets include premium viewing areas, re-entry, some kind of access to an overpriced bar, etc. Still a good investment.
Standard VIP for 3 days is $299. General admission for 3 days is $209. Spend the extra $90 believe me. All available right here.
Kilby Block Party SLC parking
It’s not great.
Apparently you can reserve parking during ticket checkout, which I didn’t do. Now that I’ve bought my tickets, I don’t see a way to go back and just pay for parking separately from my ticket purchase.
UPDATE: I found a link for official Kilby parking here. The information was actually included in the fine print of my original e-mail ticket receipt, so I herewith absolve Kilby organizers of parking neglect.
You’re probably going to end up spending $20 or $30 a day on the private lots. You can also take your chances leaving your car at the abandoned Wienerschnitzel and buy a side of Fentanyl on your way in. Or you can park downtown and ride in on Trax.
Lockers serve as a meet up location and storage for merch and approved bags you don’t want to carry all day. Importantly, the locker is also a charging station for your phone after all those pointless, long-range shots over the really tall bros standing in front of you.
The lockers are $20 a day and you clean out your stuff before leaving like a Planet Fitness. For $60, you get a locker for three days and you can leave your leftover gyro in there until Sunday.
Daily schedule for Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup
I hope these lineup and ticket updates are useful. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be posting profiles of some of the artists where you can read and hear their songs before they appear.
Have a question or comment about the Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup or logistics? Email me at the address in the About section of the Zerovu website. You can also subscribe for e-mail alerts below.
When promoters announced the Kilby Block Party SLC five weeks ago, they left some sly holes in their lineup. The poster was filled with stars as placeholders for bands that hadn’t been finalized. One of the acts TBD had top billing with Pavement and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Imagine the logistics of coordinating dozens of bands into a 3-day window, dickering with band managers and site coordinators. Add to that, multiple top-shelf artists TBA. Now we know who the Kilby Block Party has added, and they’re as exciting as anyone announced to date for the Kilby Block Party SLC.
Mystery bands revealed for the Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup
Some new big names are coming as part of the Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup. Here’s a quick rundown of new bands. These are roughly in order of my personal preference and not top billing.
Weyes Blood
The heralded artist known for 2019’s Titanic Rising and last year’s And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, Natalie Mering has enchanted audiences with her emotive, chamber folk songs. Mering came to prominence just one year before the corona, so audiences are only now getting widespread opportunity to experience her live.
Here is “Everyday” from Titanic Rising.
Bookmark the Kilby Block party daily lineup right here:
God bless his heart, on God Save the Animals, Alex Giannascoli finally gave in and used professional engineers to record a series of songs about God and animals. Previously, Alex G insisted on doing most of the work from home. I’ve listened and re-listened to God Save the Animals the last several months to synch with those who compare Alex G to the incomparable Elliot Smith.
Make no mistake Alex G is a giant “get” for the Kilby Court Block Party 2023 lineup. I’m excited to see him play!
Here is one of Kilby’s best acts you may not know! Listen to Cuco right here!
Funky pop soul with an NC-17 rating. Former alpine ski Olympic hopeful and American Idol contestant, Remi Wolf’s 2021 debut Juno received considerable attention. It’s pretty heady stuff, a bit of SZA, The B-52’s and The Go! Team. In fact, sampling Juno made me want to go back and listen to Thunder, Lightening, Strike.
Dominic Fike
Euphoria actor, rapper, TikTokker
Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup tickets – New info on Super VIP’s. READ THIS
Organizers of the Kilby Court Block Party 2023 lineup obviously didn’t price themselves out of the market.
According to Kilby’s website, 3-Day Super VIP Passes are sold out. You can still buy regular, not-super 3-day VIP passes for $328. A small number of single day Super VIP passes are still available at $202 per day. General admission for all three days is $234.
ALL OF THAT SAID, tonight I ordered and received a 3-day Super VIP Pass for the Kilby Court Block Party despite Kilby’s notice the ultra-super-incredible 3-day passes were sold out (see fine print in comments).
After taxes, fees, freight licenses, surcharges, inheritance and ZAPP taxes, my cost was was $432.51. Not a small amount and this includes no parking. But IT DOES get you super premium viewing and some kind of access to food trucks and alcohol that is not a cash bar.
Here’s to trusting your favorite music blogger has discovered a few of these super amazing tickets are still available.
The organizers behind the Kilby Block Party SLC have knocked a home run with a lineup next year that will rival some of the best in the country. And right here in the 801! With bigger names come a bigger venue. The Utah State Fairpark at 10th West will host the event May 12-14, 2023. Here are some FAQs on the Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup.
How do you get tickets and which bands do you prioritize? Read on, and listen to songs by the 3 bands you need to put at the top of your list. They may not be at the top of the bill, so keep reading and listening below!
Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup
Maybe you’ve seen the headliners, a Who’s Who of indie rock stardom. In somewhat deliberate order:
Pavement. Started playing their reunion tour this year after 12 years on the sideline. It has been 30 years since Slanted and Enchanted put Pavement on the map as one of the 90’s arch indie influencers.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The comeback kids of 2022, with their bracing single “Spitting off the Edge of the World.” Cool It Down is the YYYs first record in almost a decade. Already topping many Best Of lists in 2022.
The Strokes. Remember when The Strokes were going to save rock ‘n roll in 2001 (did it need saving?!) with This Is It? It is a genuinely legendary album but reviews of this year’s live appearances are mixed. New album rumored.
Bookmark this page for Kilby’s daily schedule of headliners:
Additionally, as a testament to the strength of the show (and perhaps their eroding legacy), The Pixies get second billing. Along with Brooklyn stalwarts Parquet Courts and San Francisco’s Deerhoof, you can’t go wrong with any of these decisions.
3 bands you CANNOT MISS in the Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup
Beyond the headliners and these rock legends, though, which bands should be at the top of your list?!
Run the Jewels
First, if you weren’t already planning your Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup around Run the Jewels WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!
Their four releases are modern classics, RTJ4 booming as the outraged soundtrack of the 2020 protests over the death of George Floyd. Remember, too, the songs on RTJ4 are still relatively fresh material for El-P and Killer Mike. Because of the Corona, they’ve only been playing them live for a year.
Last fall, Run the Jewels announced a version of RTJ4 interpreted through Latin American artists. Needed? Eh. Good marketing? These guys are the masters. And MAYBE, just maybe, Run the Jewels 5 will drop just before the Kilby Block Party SLC.
Second, don’t be dissuaded by the Grammy buzz around Michelle Zauner and Japanese Breakfast. There is so much to like about 2021’s Jubilee. Zauner earns every indie pop hook on Jubilee, and they emerge in the most delightful and unexpected ways. Her arrangements, like on opener “Paprika,” bubble with joy.
This is one I tried to convince my Swiftie daughter to listen to, and with some success. I’m always trying to brainwash her with alternative music and “Tactics” is now a regular on her Spotify playlist. Parenting success!
Third, besides RTJ and Pavement, I’m probably most excited to finally see The Walkmen, and you should be, too! Hamilton Leithauser and company recently reunited after nine years working on solo projects. I have waxed poetic before about 2010’s Lisbon, and the raspy, soaring vocals on “Angela Surf City.”
Here’s how to get tickets to the Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup
Finally, ticket costs for the Kilby Block Party 2023 lineup are…not insignificant.
Single day tickets haven’t gone on sale yet. But if you have the wallet for it, 3-day passes, VIP passes and super-ultra-crazy VIP passes are now on sale here.
The basic 3-day pass is $234. For premium seating and access to a private bar, you can buy a VIP pass for $328. And if you want onto the premium viewing platform with Jon Huntsman*, access to private food trucks and the VIP bar, you’ll need $432 for the weekend.
Kilby says several bands, including a major supporting act, haven’t been announced for the Kilby Block Party SLC yet. They invite you to watch their Instagram page for updates. Also, I didn’t even get to Cuco, who almost made my list of Must See’s but honestly I need to get to bed at decent time. More to come!
