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HEADS UP NEW INFO!! Organizers have released set times for the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. Listen to the bands’ songs — and plan your Friday wisely. Here are start times:

A few blink impressions of the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup:

• My only real conflict Friday is Jean Dawson and NoSo. That’s a tough choice. It may come down to what I’m ready for at 2pm…do I need a warm up? Sample both artists below.
• Ritt Momney is the only obvious tax writeoff. What did those guys do wrong to get lined up against Japanese Breakfast?! I’ve also included songs for Japanese Breakfast below.
• We’re promised 90 minutes of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. That implies current hits and plenty of back catalogue. I guess you’ve got to give the kids what they want. Again, listen to the YYY below.

Here’s my plan and personal recommendation for Friday.

That’s my plan. But I want to give you a lot to think about here. And listen to.

The Kilby Block Party Friday lineup blasts out of the gates with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Japanese Breakfast and Cuco. Have a listen to the headliners + some of the supporting acts that are opening an amazing weekend of music.

Kilby Block Party Friday lineup: The headliners

One of the two biggest names to play all weekend in the Kilby Block Party lineup are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But they’re just a starting place in the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. Read on to sample the YYY’s music but also some of the lesser-known bands playing on opening night!

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

2022’s comeback kids exploded into relevance again with their single “Spitting Off the Side of the World” featuring Perfume Genius on album Cool It Down. The album appeared in many 2022 top 10 lists. Salt Lake City won’t be disappointed when they hear songs like “Fleez.”

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – with Karen O on vocals, Nick Zinner on guitar and keyboard, and Brian Chase on drums – are known for their early art school aesthetic and post-punk energy.

Their debut album, Fever to Tell (2003), features the breakout single, “Maps,” which remains one of their biggest hits. The band’s successive albums, including Show Your Bones (2006), It’s Blitz! (2009), and Mosquito (2013), showcase the YYY’s emerging electronica and garage rock sound.

I’m excited to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs play for the first time.

Japanese Breakfast

Michelle Zauner and Japanese Breakfast are one of those acts that I enjoy on every level…lyrical, visual and brainy…all while delivering the hooks. I also succeeded in getting my daughter, 17 at the time, to listen to 2021’s Jubilee. I got her to pay attention to “Tactics” in the car one day, and she added it to her Spotify playlist. Father of the Year!

It’s wonderful how “Tactics” unfolds like a Paul Simon song — then the chorus blossoms into something aching and completely her own:

So I had to
Move a great distance from you
Cross a sea, keep you from me
Move a great distance from you
Cross a sea, keep you from me

Michelle Zauner’s bestselling book Crying in H Mart comes out in paperback today. The memoir recalls her isolated upbringing in Oregon as a Korean-American, drifting from her heritage as she grows older, reconnecting to her mother’s values upon her death.

One of my dearest friends in high school was Korean-American. I think of her sometimes listening to songs like “Paprika” and “Kokomo, IN” and wonder what has become of her.

Cuco

I’ve already written quite a bit about Cuco.

Bedroom pop guy, he’s the real deal, I hope you take time to hear him during the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. I can remember the exact place and time I was falling in love with Cuco last year. I was re-seeding grass in my backyard, about to get on a plane for a college reunion, listening to the pure pop bliss of “Sweet Dissociation.”

Cuco’s multi-lingual album Fantasy Gateway didn’t get nearly the attention it deserved in 2022. So first, buy it from Cuco’s website. Then be there Friday for one of the late afternoon Kilby Block Party set times. Be there to hear Cuco’s magic brought to life!

Deerhoof

This week, the Deerhoof Miracle-Level album drops. The San Francisco post-punk legends are nearly 30 years and 19 albums into their career. The entirety of Miracle-Level is recorded in Satomi Matsuzaki’s native Japanese language.

The band previewed Miracle-Level last fall with “My Lovely Cat” and then in January with the spiky melody experimental pop number “Sit Down Let Me Tell You a Story.”

I don’t imbed many videos — this is a website for reading and listening. But the video from a performance of “Sit Down Let Me Tell You a Story” at Tokyo’s Ebisu Garden Hall is pretty awesome.

While I’ve listened to them over the years, I’m not going to pretend to be a Deerhoof expert. But they’ve earned their status as headliners, however they’re classified in the Kilby Block Party lineup.

You can buy the Deerhoof Miracle-Level album plus Deerhoof merch when you scroll to the bottom of the band’s home page.

Kilby Block Party Friday lineup: Supporting acts

Just because you haven’t heard of every band in the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup doesn’t mean you should skip straight to the familiar names. In fact, the buried lead for the Kilby Court concert…it’s that you have multiple, stellar bands playing in “supporting act” slots. It’s pretty remarkable, so read on-and listen.

Let’s have a look at a few standouts.

Kilby Block Party set times: Frankie Cosmos (7:30p)

I listened to quite a bit of Inner World by Frankie Cosmos last year.

The blithe indie pop is perfect for a Saturday afternoon. Many of the songs fronted by Greta Kline are light, economical, almost twee. They’re also not afraid to turn up their amps on the 90-second blast of “Magnetic Personality.”

More typical is Kline’s introspective pop like “Empty Head” and “After Shock.”

Inner World is one I intend to catch up on before the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup takes the stage. Order your copy from Sub Pop. Get Frankie Cosmos gear like a clever “Empty Head” hat at their website.

Kilby Block Party set times: NoSo (2:15p)

After releasing songs for four years, NoSo released their debut full-length with last year’s Stay Proud of Me. I have an Evernote (I’m such a dork) from August of last year marking “Parasites” as one of my favorite songs of the year.

Stay Proud of Me is replete with shimmering guitars, a little bit of Roxy Music cool and Abby Hwong’s low vibrato which can’t help but evoke Stevie Nicks. The album has so many good tracks–everything is good! For this post, I’ll stick with album-opener “Parasites.”

Get ready for the treat that is NoSo and buy Stay Proud of Me from Hwong’s website.

Kilby Block Party set times: Jean Dawson (2:15p)

I’ve gone down a Jean Dawson wormhole today and all I can say is, “How did I miss him last year?”

Dawson’s third album Chaos Now defies category and description, a quality in music I adore. The Mexican-American’s fierce lyrics over the trip hop, power guitar and distorted riffs may overwhelm the block party Kilby Court is planning Friday night!

I’ve listened to about half of Chaos Now, including repeating “Positive One Negative One” about six times. Make sure your neighbors are gone and blow out the windows!

I am downloading Chaos Now before May. But kids these days, they don’t always make it easy. Dawson’s website is pretty cryptic and he has no presence on Bandcamp. You can download Chaos Now from some of the larger purveyors like iTunes and Amazon Prime.

Mark these words: Dawson will upend what you expect from most of the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup.

Kilby Block Party set times: The band Julie (1:35p)

LA’s experimental youngsters Julie may be another tasty surprise in the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup. The band interchanges noise and a punishing shoegaze with complex time changes. Think Sonic Youth at 20-years-old. Julie are Alex Brady on bass and vocals, Keyan Zand on guitar and vocals and Dillon Lee on drums.

Check out “lochness” from 2021’s Pushing Daisies. Julie rocks!

Go to Bandcamp to buy Julie’s latest, Pushing Daisies from 2021, or last summer’s heavier single “pg.4 a picture of three hedges.”

Kilby Block Party set times: Lucius (3:10p)

Until writing this paragraph, I had never heard the impeccable harmonies of Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, aka Lucius who are part of the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup.

I’m now officially interested to hear them play their fourth album, Second Nature, part Donna Summer, part ABBA. Lucius also isn’t afraid to produce a dancy Americana number that wouldn’t sound out of place on stage with Tay Tay.

Besides matching outfits and hair, the calling card for Laessig and Wolfe are their harmonies. Here they show off on “Dance Around It” with support from producer Brandi Carlile and guest Sheryl Crowe.

Buy Second Nature at the band’s website, unironically located at ilovelucius.com.

Kilby Block Party set times: Momma (1:30p)

Momma have slightly loopy asymmetrical energy a bit like The Breeders. They released a full length, Household Name, last summer…and then the hopped-up “Bang Bang” on March 1. You can’t deny that hook!

You can download “Bang Bang” from Lucky Numbers Music. Find last year’s Household Name at Polyvinyl’s website. Some of Momma’s other back catalogue and merch is available at Bandcamp.

Kilby Block Party set times: Westerman (3:00p)

Will Westerman from Athens, Greece, made a splash with his 2020 debut Your Hero is Not Dead. His sophomore release An Inbuilt Fault comes out in May, so we will see Westerman just as he returns with another album of minimalist folk. The taste here is “Petralona.”

Buy 2020’s Your Hero is Not Dead from Partisan Records. Pre-order Will Westerman’s upcoming An Inbuilt Fault from the artist’s website.

Kilby Block Party set times: SLC’s The Plastic Cherries (12:20p)

I ran across a new friend on the Twitter earlier this year who helped me with the local music scene. I pledged to do a better job covering the 801 this year.

The Plastic Cherries would undoubtedly be among the bands he would recommend on Salt Lake’s Uphere! Records. They credit their influences as glam, soft 70’s and shoegaze. I don’t necessarily hear the gaze but I totally dig the soft rock and DIY sound.

Look for Salt Lake’s own Plastic Cherries with one of the earliest Kilby Block Party set times, the perhaps not enviable 12:20 open. Here is “Waking Up” from 2021’s full-length Sunshine. Dig it!

The Plastic Cherries promise a second album at a date TBD but you can buy Sunshine today at Bandcamp.

Kilby Block Party set times: SLC’s Homephone (12:55p)

Another home grown favorite, Salt Lake’s Homephone were busy in 2022 releasing multiple singles ahead of full-length Melon Collie. Ysabelle Stepp and Joseph Sandholtz 70’s-infused dream pop include touching lyrics on songs like “Pistachio.”

People only kiss
When their eyes are closed
If they opened up
What would happen, I don’t know

Buy Melon Collie from Homephone at Bandcamp. Homephone is also releasing new single “NIGHT WALK” on Friday!

And finally…Alice Phoebe Lou

Berlin’s Alice Phoebe Lou sings about getting sex, having sex and making booty calls for sex.

Her songs aren’t explicit per se but…I guess…sex positive. She released her fourth album, Child’s Play, with little fanfare at the end of 2021. Since then, Alice has released just one song, “Shelter,” earlier this month.

The tracks on Child’s Play are sweet, if feckless. Here is 2021’s “Care.”

Check out Alice’s entire collection at her website.

Even more bands from the Kilby Block Party Friday lineup

Okay we’ve profiled and listened to most but not all of the bands with Friday Kilby Block Party set times. God willing, and depending on the interest (share this with your friends!) I’ll offer similar rundowns for Saturday and Sunday, so keep checking back.

Here are the remaining Friday bands you’ll see at the Utah Fairgrounds on Friday, May 12:

• Actor-singer Dominic Fike
• Competitive skier-singer Remi Wolf
• Basketball player-singer Miya Folick
• Salt Lake City’s Sunhills
• Salt Lake City’s Ritt Momney