Live music review: Kilby Block Party on day one featured Vampire Weekend and a host of gifted female performers

In Salt Lake City, one of the most beloved and revered music venues is Kilby Court, the tiny, DIY performance space for which the Kilby Block Party music festival is named. Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the legendary club, organizers and venue operator, S&S Presents are also marking the fifth year of the festival with another stellar lineup that attracted fans from all over the country to the Utah State Fairpark for what is turning out to be an incredible weekend of musical performances. Friday’s lineup included Vampire Weekend and a host of gifted female performers including; Joanna Newsome, Courtney Barnett, Alvvays and Blondshell among others. We also caught sets by Ty Segall, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Andy Shauf over a brisk Spring day that saw temperatures in the mid-60s, sunny skies and spectacular views of the local mountains in the background. It was an ideal day to begin the three-day affair.

What The Cosmic Clash noticed was organizers attention to detail. A skatepark greeted visitors upon entry with competitions sponsored by Skullcandy. Art installations and photo opportunities were spread throughout the grounds of the relatively small footprint of the festival which made it easy on fans moving from one stage to the next. VIP and hospitality areas were well thought out. VIP ticket holders even had access to an indoor, climate controlled area with DJs, various specialty bars and plenty of seating. An enjoyable silent disco ran from 4 – 8 p.m. with options to listen to three different DJs as well. There was no shortage of things to do and see at Kilby Block Party.

Our crew began the day at the Mountain Stage for Blondshell, the Los Angeles-based indie rocker, also known as Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum who formerly performed as a pop singer before launching Blondshell in 2022 with the single “Olympus.”  The change in moniker and writing style began a steep ascent for Teitelbaum who was a buzz act at the 2023 version of SXSW. Her producer Yves Rothman (Yves Tumor) encouraged the change of direction after hearing an early demo of “Olympus” and the rest has been a whirlwind of success for Blondshell.

At the other end of fairgrounds, Unknown Mortal Orchestra were wrapping up a superlative performance with virtuoso guitar work amid jammy, progressive tunes that both impressed with technical chops and got fans dancing in front of the main, Kilby Stage. UMO played a kickoff show earlier in the week at Urban Lounge on Wednesday evening.

Following UMO, Toronto’s Alvvays took the main stage amid the threat of rain from a storm that skirted Salt Lake City dropping a sprinkling of rain during the band’s pleasing hour-long set that featured an amazing vocal performance by bandleader, Molly Rankin that included a crack band behind her cranking out indie rock tunes like they have since 2011. Rankin surveyed the huge crowd in front of her and exclaimed, “Man! This festival has gotten big!”

The group includes Rankin’s childhood neighbor and writing partner, Kerri MacLellan (keyboards) along with Alec O’Hanley (guitars), Abbey Blackwell (bass), and Sheridan Riley (drums). Rankin’s father, John is a successful Celtic folk performer who gained notoriety in the 1990s. Clearly Rankin inherited her family’s talent for music taking indie rock to new heights with Alvvays which KBP fans were graciously thankful for. The laid-back, music-lover vibe of the festival was a welcome aspect of the day.

Another talented female rocker, Australian Courtney Barnett appeared next at the other main stage with her band. Barnett may have turned in the single best straight up rock performance of the day, looking confident and sure of herself as her band worked through a number of songs from Barnett’s now growing catalogue.

The set list included hit singles “Nameless, Faceless” and the popular tune, “Walkin’ on Eggshells” which garnered great crowd responses and allowed her band to show off impressive musical chops. The 12-song set concluded with the killer version of “Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party.”

Ty Segall, this time with his Freedom Band played next at the adjacent stage working his way through his typically intricate and progressive songs that celebrate rock n roll if a musician’s musician would imagine them. Segall’s group is touring in support of his latest record, Three Bells. The performance featured a few new tracks from the new record and once again displayed the pure musical talent Segall has assembled on stage.

Next came the most emotional performance of the day as harpist and pianist, Joanna Newsom took the stage as the sun began to set on Kilby Block Party. with a dramatic, dynamic fiery orange sunset behind her on the screen, Newsom, dressed in a spectacular red ensemble pulled at harp strings and heart strings during a show that saw multiple fans openly weeping as her unorthodox vocal delivery and heavenly harp performance.

Newsom was equally compelling at her Yamaha piano, singing touching songs while displaying orchestra-level piano skills. Newsom won the day if the goal was to produce a set that stood out among an embarrassment of musical riches at KBP. That’s saying something.

After catching a bit of songwriter, Andy Shauf on the Mountain Stage playing solo, acoustic material, we grabbed spots in front of the main stage for the night’s headliner, Vampire Weekend. Led by Ezra Koenig, the New York City indie rock legends walked the Kilby Block Party faithful through a career-spanning 19-song set list that included a sublime cover of SBTRKT’s “New Drop, New York” as well as material from the band’s latest record, Only God Was Above Us.

Koenig talked about the show marking the 25th Anniversary of Kilby Court which his band first played in December of 2007 to a tiny audience of around 30 people. He asked if audience members were at that early show, then teasingly stated those claiming to have been there were lying with a grin and a twinkle in his eye.

Along with founding band members Chris Bai0 (bass) and Chris Thomson (drums) Koenig invited a fan named Connor on stage after the man claimed earlier in the show he could play the intricate piano introduction to new Vampire Weekend track, “Connect.” The fan deftly played the song section to cheers from the audience before leaving the stage to allow the band to play the song in its entirety. To Koenig’s credit, he gave the young man his due and gave the KBP crowd his all over the course of an impressive 90-minute performance that began in fading daylight. Check the full set list here.