Kilby Block Party 7 returns to Utah’s Granary District for three days, with organizers expecting 90,000 attendees this year and nearly half coming from outside Utah. From artist selection based on fan behavior to new ticket options and surprise celebrity chatt
SALT LAKE CITY — The block party that began seven years ago in the Granary District is back with a bigger pull than ever, and organizers are already bracing for a crowd they estimate at about 90,000 over three days. Nearly half, they say, are expected to come from outside Utah.
For longtime indie fans, Kilby Block Party has become its own kind of destination.. This year’s lineup leans heavily into buzz bands and familiar scene-staples. with organizers pointing to headliners that include Lorde. Hayley Williams. Modest Mouse. The XX. Turnstile. Lucy Dacus. Briston Maroney and more.
Among the artists set to play is Jack Rutter, better known as Ritt Momney.. He said he feels lucky to be on the festival’s first-ever bill alongside Death Cab for Cutie. a well-liked Utah band that previously visited Kilby in 2024.. Rutter’s career surged after he released a cover of Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On. ” a viral moment that helped launch him into wider attention.
This weekend, he’ll be finishing a tour that starts where Kilby originally found its footing.. “When I think of playing a show. I think of Kilby (Court). ” he told KSL. adding that it feels “very much like the symbol of Salt Lake live music to me.” His run begins with a show at Kilby Court—then ends Friday with his performance at Kilby Block Party at 7 p.m.. at the Utah State Fairpark.
The lineup doesn’t just happen. It is, in part, engineered from the crowd outward.
How the festival books artists
Marketing coordinator Riley Bode said S&S Presents—the event production company behind Kilby Block Party and other Salt Lake City venues—pays close attention to what attendees actually do and say.. The team studies listening behavior, survey results, and social media comments when shaping the next festival’s roster.
“We really focus on ‘who do people want?’” Bode said. “And whoever people want, we’re going to go and get.”
Once high-scoring artists are identified, bookers look for similar acts and curate from a creative standpoint to build what Bode described as a choose-your-own-festival feel—with an intentional through-line that keeps the stages cohesive while also supporting local artists.
Bode pointed to past programming as proof. She said it was “really cool” when LCD Soundsystem played, because a local Utah band—Persona 749—opened the festival and “totally, totally” matched the energy.
It’s also an experience that adjusts in real time based on what fans ask for. Booker Faye Barhnhurst said it’s hard not to get emotional about the focus on both fan experience and artist experience.
“We really do value fan experience as well as artist experience,” Barhnhurst said. “We really listen to feedback we’ve gotten feedback over the years that we’ve implemented.”
She cited specific changes: re-entry was added after people asked for it, and when set times are released, the team tries to adjust scheduling if there’s a band that many attendees are wondering why it’s overlapping with another.
And even with the core structure locked in, the festival keeps expanding the perimeter around the music.. Bode said kickoff performances now happen days in advance.. There are after parties featuring lineup artists who play again. a silent disco. a skateboarding “Crusher Cup. ” and a mobile app that largely influences what attendees do during festival weekend.
She also said there will be a sponsor presence this year in the form of JNCO—a brand of jeans popular in the 90s that. in Bode’s words. is becoming newly relevant to youth fashion today.. She noted ticket holders range in age from 18 to over 55. with the festival’s largest age group being 18–29-year-olds. which she said makes up 43% of the crowd.
Celebrity sightings remain a quiet mystery
Organizers aren’t promising full names, but they do acknowledge that celebrity attention is part of what makes the event feel unpredictable. Bode said she could not list any specific guests, only that “There will be some.”
“It’ll be exciting and fun and kind of unexpected,” she said.
Kilby Block Party has drawn online detective work in the past: fans flocked to social media when YouTuber-turned-fashion mogul Emma Chamberlain attended two years ago. The same year, “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Heather Gay made a cameo during Vampire Weekend’s set.
Even with all the hype, Bode said S&S Presents doesn’t frame the festival as an elite operation. Every partnership, including local ticketing platform 24tix, is described as an intentional choice to reinforce its supporters and community.
Barhnhurst and Bode both suggested that celebrity sightings aren’t proof of a different “class” of music lovers—they’re proof of how wide the appeal can be.
“It shows that you come to Kilby Block Party because you love the artists playing,” Bode said. “You have an appreciation for music, you like being able to find new bands… I think that’s like the common heart of it.”
That message runs through how the festival talks about its roots.
A career ladder built into the stages
For local industry workers and emerging artists, Kilby Block Party isn’t just a weekend—it’s a gateway.
Barhnhurst and Rutter both thanked S&S Presents and Kilby Court for pushing jobs in Utah and helping them build careers without having to relocate. Barhnhurst said that early in her own career, she searched for a field that matched her love of music but didn’t require performing on stage.
“I love music. I love live music, but I don’t play,” she said. “So yeah, I feel like I never really knew that there were jobs in the industry that you could have that weren’t just like playing music.”
She said she started booking local talent for the original Kilby Court venue around the time the festival first took shape.. For her. she said the most meaningful part has been the chance to work closely with local bands that are “just getting their start.” She’s also said she’s enjoyed working with agencies across the country and watching larger projects take shape.
Rutter echoed that gratitude, calling Kilby a key step in getting his own career off the ground.
“I feel a loyalty to Kilby because they make it a point to prop up local young acts and help people like me get started with live music,” he said. “Before we were really selling any kind of tickets, they were putting us on opening bills for cool bands that were coming through.”
He also said the festival helped him keep his home life steady: he tours alongside his East High School sweetheart and now wife, Lindsay, who sews merch from thrifted clothing for Ritt Momney fans.
Tickets: what’s left as KBP 7 starts
As Kilby Block Party 7 launches, organizers say VIP options are already sold out. Single-day passes are still available for $145 to $155, and three-day general admission passes cost $350.
A three-day VIP pass sold for $460. with unlimited re-entry plus access to VIP lounges. exclusive VIP food options. bars. restrooms. merch booths. and photo opportunities.. Another tier is the Kilby Club VIP pass at $800. which includes everything a regular VIP pass does along with access to the Kilby Club VIP Lounge and a “really special” viewing area for the main stages. according to Bode.
All prices quoted include fees and sales tax.
For those considering the upgrade, Bode described what higher-level access offers: “There’s a spot that they can be in that’s going to kind of give them this, like ‘back-of-house’ view.”
She said that kind of perspective is especially valuable at a festival, where people often want to do more than just watch.
Before the weekend closes, attendees are also being encouraged to register their wristbands so they can fill out a survey and vote for artists they want to see next time. “Because, as Bode insists, you visit to listen to Kilby and, in turn, Kilby listens to you,” the festival team said.
Kilby Block Party 7 Ritt Momney Jack Rutter Death Cab for Cutie indie music Salt Lake City Kilby Court Utah State Fairpark S&S Presents festival lineup