The Heavy-Hitting Performances of Kilby Block Party 7

What a time to be alive, am I right? Through skin-crackling heat and TRAX carts packed sardine-style, Kilby Block Party brought its “show must go on” mentality and thousands of festival-goers joined in. And boy, was it a party? Insane live performances, delicious food, silent disco (to escape from the sun blisters) and above all, good company to share the moment with. By this time next year, we’ll be ready for the bigger star-studded lineup, but for now, let’s enjoy the performances that made us think, “last night was a movie.”

Friday, May 15th

Gonk

You know you’re in for a treat when teenage boys are running to the next set. And a treat Gonk was — the soft punk rock band brought all of their usual adolescent sentimentalities to their show. As one of the very first showings of this year’s Kilby Block Party, they sure led off with a bang. Their loud yet comforting sound evaded the air, while the mosh pit was whirlpooling to oblivion. The thrashing of the instruments played by this four piece band stood to amaze the modestly large crowd. Each band member wore a coordinating color with a baby bonnet that matches their branding. Their branding, by the way, is impeccable — they had big ass blocks like the ones in Toy Story spelling out their name and little plush toys of their mascot to sell as merch. Overall, this was an incredible welcome to this long weekend. I would watch this set all over again. —Marzia Thomas

Nedezhda

It’s with a heavy heart and the guiltiest of consciences that I must admit that I didn’t attend March’s Localized showcasing Macana, Gracemaker and Nedezhda (burning the midnight oil, per usual). So seeing these hardcore haymakers in fine print on the KBP7 poster, I couldn’t miss this chance again. While microdosing heat stroke and reaching my buzzing peak after two mini-bottle bunions of Buffalo Trace, I will finally say that the performance was a religious experience. Brighton Ballard’s shockwave screech rattles your ribcage like a skeletal xylophone, as synthetic shreds from Derek Ballard and Kai Cox sounded like hardcore has merged with alien technology. Through the neck-breaking bangs and abrasive booms, I start to look around at the crowd realizing that Nedezhda is for everyone. There were checker-coded gals ska-kicking in the corner, next to two wizards and a well-tiddied railroad worker. In the most harmonious of ways, though, the screen behind the band strobed big blocky letters enlighting, “NO WAR BUT A CLASS WAR.” Our future is destined for a revolution and Nedezhda will ring the final bell. —Alton Barnhart

Wombo

Wombo is hard to explain to people. Between their goofy name (a bastardized reference to SpongeBob) and their experimental, art-pop-meets-garage-rock sound, you kind of have to hear them to understand. But this ineffability puts them among the bands I find most interesting right now, and there are Wombo tracks I would pit against the best of mainstream indie. This is all to say Wombo was among the bands I was most excited to find in the small print of the KBP7 poster, so I tore myself from Gelli Haha early on Friday to secure a good spot at Lake Stage. The three-piece entered in front of a bouncing screensaver of the cover of their 2025 album, Danger in Fives, and kicked things off with “In Situ.” Their live sound was far less chasmic and dreamy than their records, but this gave Sydney Chadwick‘s gorgeous, airy voice greater prominence and permitted Cameron Lowe‘s crunchy, inventive guitar licks to stand out. Additionally, the band’s impeccable live rhythms proved that Wombo isn’t one of those groups whose skill is manufactured in post. I expected them to favor their newest record, but was pleasantly surprised when they threw in a few great songs like “One of These” off 2022’s Fairy Rust. Sadly, they mostly neglected 2020’s Blossomlooksdownuponus, but Wombo’s performance was still everything I’d been hoping for. —Joe Roberts

Ritt Momney

I can still distantly hear Ritt Momney’s first EP, “Young Adult” playing in the background of my high school life. Since then, Jack Rutter has found serious musical strengths in a uniquely raw, spacey, bedroom pop format. The touring album, “BASE” seems to be closest to what the artist’s final form might be, possibly the launch “base” for a fresh space rock blast-off. Jack Rutter is finding his truest voice by getting creative on the keyboard, with dreamy, synthy and somehow nostalgically futuristic sounds and pitchy vocals. Mercury joins Ritt Momney onstage to sing “GUNNA,” which feels like a space-age power ballad. Repeating lyrics “I’ll make something happen” are sung like a galactic spell of sorts by Mercury’s front runner, Maddie Kerr. The last bit of “RIGHTBACK” showcases Ritt Momney’s drummer Rick West and guitarist Chris Peranich’s incredible ability to make the sound system “punch” the crowd in the best way possible, pushing bass vibrations to the max. “CAT” is the most lyrically hard-hitting song on the album, as it suggests themes of vulnerability, power and grief through symbols of cat and mouse. Optimistic, sunny energy is apparent in the crowd on the bright blue afternoon at the Kilby Stage, and it’s clear Ritt Momney’s static starry arrangements from another planet are here to stay, and Rutter will only keep growing into his impeccable tastes. —India Mendoza

Snail Mail

Here’s an incendiary opinion I’ve held for years: Snail Mail deserves to be every bit as popular as boygenius and its constituent members. Across three studio albums — most recently 2026’s transcendent Ricochet — Lindsey Erin Jordan has brought the same sad girl candor, dulcet vocals and moody introspection that earned her contemporaries international fame. Jordan, who started this project at 15 and is still infuriatingly young for someone so talented, took the stage with her band amidst loud cheers from the gathered crowd and launched into “Tractor Beam.” For the whole first half of the set, the group exclusively played songs off Ricochet. The climax came when Jordan paused to say, “I think this is the best song on the new record,” and then played “Reverie,” one of her most intimate ballads. The group then treated us to flawless renditions of a few older tracks like “Glory” and “Valentine” (my personal favorite) before reaching all the way back to their first album to close with “Anytime.” After seeing Snail Mail live, I’m more convinced than ever that they’re tragically underrated. And whatever else is true, Snail Mail’s set was the best possible way to detox from Show Me the Body‘s mosh pit. —Joe Roberts

Father John Misty

Josh Tillman’s stage name always struck me as weird. Not too many artists, unless you’re doing tongue-in-cheek metal or pop iconography, go for religious connotations. Now after Tillman’s cathartic and quaking performance at Kilby Block Party, it makes sense. He begins with the somber yet funky “Time Makes Fools Of All,” starting off more reserved with trademark sardonic wit and tragic sarcasm. Backed with the usual band and an incredible saxophonist who made the performances really stand out, Father John Misty lost the upright attitude and started to sound like a street preacher.  “Mahashmashana” was particularly revelatory, and his closing song of “I Love You, Honeybear” struck even harder with the sun beginning to dip and the smoke stacks of the power plant nearby. Call it the “right place, right time,” but the current events of this state made me feel like Father John Misty was preaching our woes and the solution of ego death and love. —Connor Kraus

Pattie Gonia

This show was anything, but a “drag.” I went into the performance thinking it was going to be a DJ set, but I was served, so so much more. Pattie Gonia accompanied by Sequoia, a local drag queen, took to the stage like two dames in shining armour. Gonia first stepped out in a gown shaped like a life-sized tent and called the festival “the most bisexual music fest.” She then gave an impassioned speech about the current political and economic state of the world. Oh yeah, if you’re the type who doesn’t like when “artists are too political,” this is not the show for you. Gonia talked about immigrant, queer, natural and workers rights — all in the same set. She had three costume changes, the first being a carpenter’s outfit, the second was a cut up American flag and the last was Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. Sequoia also killed on stage, having a set fully backed by Slayyyter in which she added memes of people dancing as the stage setting. The fans in the crowd were going crazy, in more than just one way. —Marzia Thomas

Modest Mouse

On an evening in 2007 when I was struggling through freshman year and fighting for my life against puberty, my dad called me over to his computer. It was open to iTunes, and his bemused smile told me he couldn’t wait to share what he’d just heard. Wordlessly, he hit play on “Missed the Boat.” The track’s whimsical lyricism, meandering guitars and Isaac Brock’s bizarre but affable vocals baffled me at first, but the song and its surrounding album went platinum on my iPod that year. Modest Mouse has been one of my favorite bands of their generation ever since, so seeing them live for the first time this KBP was huge for me. The band took the stage at sunset on Friday, and Brock greeted us warmly before diving headfirst into tight and frenetic renditions of “Doin’ the Cockroach” and “Dashboard.” I keep hearing that Modest Mouse is past their imperial phase. I’m calling bullshit. Brock’s voice sounds as melodically deranged as ever, and the whole band nailed their patently manic sound throughout the whole hit-laden show. These guys still got the juice. The band closed with the obligatory “Float On” followed by “Shit Luck.” And while they never played “Missed the Boat,” they did give us a wistful performance of “Ocean Breathes Salty,” another long-time favorite of mine. Modest Mouse was well worth staring directly into the setting sun for an hour, and I can’t wait for the upcoming record they teased by playing some of the new singles. —Joe Roberts

Read more on past coverage of Kilby Block Party here:
32 Sensational Performances at Kilby Block Party 6
Photo Gallery: Kilby Block Party 6 @ Utah State Fairpark

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