Nearly a year after the Unity Block Party drew crowds to downtown Salt Lake City, several Black and brown performers say they still have not been paid for their sets at the Aug. 29–31, 2025 event. Artists and DJs who played the three-day benefit say assurances of quick checks have turned into long, frustrating months of follow-up emails, with little to show for it. Some performers say they were left covering travel and equipment costs out of pocket, raising fresh questions about how grassroots festivals handle artist payments in a shifting sponsorship landscape.
As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, multiple performers told the paper they still had not received payment, and that attempts to reach event staff had largely stalled out. According to the Tribune, the festival’s organizer pointed to “DEI rollbacks” and a pullback in sponsor support, saying shrinking projected revenue had delayed the money performers were expecting.
The Unity Block Party launched in 2020 as the Say Their Names Memorial and later expanded into a three-day cultural benefit at Library Square, with both national and local acts on the bill, including a headliner slot. The festival’s official event page lists the Aug. 29–31, 2025 dates and names Library Square at 200 E 400 S in Salt Lake City as the main venue. Organizers promoted the gathering as a nonprofit effort meant to seed a creative hub for Black artists in Utah.
Performers Say Payments Have Not Arrived
Several acts featured on the Unity Block Party lineup say checks that were supposed to land weeks after the festival never showed up. Performers describe covering their own expenses for travel and equipment, then sending repeated invoices and follow-up messages that, they say, generated only vague timelines instead of actual payments.
Organizer Cites DEI Rollbacks And Sponsor Pullback
The organizer told The Salt Lake Tribune that recent “DEI rollbacks” and a retreat by sponsors left the event with a funding shortfall. Public radio reporting has also documented companies and institutions scaling back sponsorships for community events in 2025, a pattern organizers say made that gap worse. That trend was detailed by KPCW.
Policy Shift Squeezes Festival Budgets
Utah’s 2024 law limiting DEI programs at public institutions prompted universities and some funders to rethink programming and sponsorships, according to reporting by Inside Higher Ed. That shift, combined with private sponsors reassessing their public commitments, has left smaller festivals more exposed when the money they are counting on does not come through.
Performers say they want transparency and the payments they were promised, while organizers say they are working to close the gap. The Unity Block Party’s public materials still describe the festival as a benefit that supports local creatives, yet the ongoing payment dispute highlights how fragile that model can be when public policy and corporate giving change at the same time. This story will be updated if the festival releases a public accounting or issues payments to performers.
