Salt Lake City – The Cosmic Clash

Live music preview: Six bands to see at Kilby Block Party 2026

May 6, 2026 Greg Ackerman 830 Views American Football, Automatic, Ben Kweller, Die Spitz, festival preview, Gelli Haha, Granddaddy, hardcore, Hayley Williams, indie rock, KBP, Kilby Block Party, live music, Lorde, metal, music festival, pop music, post-punk, preview, punk rock, rock n roll, Salt Lake City, This is Lorelei, Turnstile

Utah’s most exciting music festival, Kilby Block Party is entering its seventh year in 2026 with its most ambitious lineup to date. The fest runs May 15-17 at Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City. It feels like this unassuming fest which began on a closed-off road behind Kilby Court, the beloved DIY venue it’s named for has become something else entirely with a lineup featuring a pop star (Lorde), a rocker turned pop star (Hayley Williams) and a melodic hardcore act (Turnstile) which shows just how far this independent music fest has come in a relatively short time. Rather than focus on the obvious headlining sets to profile, we’ve selected seven bands to see at KBP 2026. Before we dive in, fans should know some ticket options are already sold-out or nearing sold-out. If you’re considering attending, grab tickets here.

Thr Groanies 1 SLC Urban Lounge Ryan Wesley Odom

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: SLC act The Groanies dropped new EP, album release show April 10

April 5, 2026 Greg Ackerman 792 Views album release, album review, Church and State, garage psych, garage rock, live music, Musor, new music, psych-rock, punk rock, Salt Lake City, SLC, SLC music, The Groanies

One of the first Salt Lake City acts we saw after dipping into the SLC underground music scene was The Groanies who played Urban Lounge a couple years back. The garage punks impressed with a hard hitting set that had us coming back for more the next time the group played at International Bar. Then we caught ’em again at Urban’s Psych Lake City event. We were hooked. This up and coming band, hit us right in our garage-psych sweet spot. Naturally we were thrilled when The Groanies dropped a new EP this week and announced an album release show with Musor and Skrude on Friday, April 10 at Church and State. Advance tickets are available in the link or click the poster to grab your $10 ticket to what promises to be a fun night. The band let us know they organized a taco truck along with ice cream and coffee vendors.