diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d9c7ab76060..4e334f2b1ff 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 * [ENHANCEMENT] Implement trace comparison in Vulture [#904](https://github.com/grafana/tempo/pull/904) (@zalegrala)
 * [ENHANCEMENT] Dedupe search records while replaying WAL [#940](https://github.com/grafana/tempo/pull/940) (@annanay25)
 * [ENHANCEMENT] Add status endpoint to list the available endpoints [#938](https://github.com/grafana/tempo/pull/938) (@zalegrala)
+* [ENHANCEMENT] Add search block headers [#943](https://github.com/grafana/tempo/pull/943) (@mdisibio)
 * [CHANGE] Renamed CLI flag from `--storage.trace.maintenance-cycle` to `--storage.trace.blocklist_poll`. This is a **breaking change**  [#897](https://github.com/grafana/tempo/pull/897) (@mritunjaysharma394)
 * [CHANGE] update jsonnet alerts and recording rules to use `job_selectors` and `cluster_selectors` for configurable unique identifier labels [#935](https://github.com/grafana/tempo/pull/935) (@kevinschoonover)
 * [CHANGE] Modify generated tag keys in Vulture for easier filtering [#934](https://github.com/grafana/tempo/pull/934) (@zalegrala)
diff --git a/modules/ingester/instance_search.go b/modules/ingester/instance_search.go
index 0159b33e4fe..6274efe8d99 100644
--- a/modules/ingester/instance_search.go
+++ b/modules/ingester/instance_search.go
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ func (i *instance) Search(ctx context.Context, req *tempopb.SearchRequest) (*tem
 			InspectedTraces: sr.TracesInspected(),
 			InspectedBytes:  sr.BytesInspected(),
 			InspectedBlocks: sr.BlocksInspected(),
+			SkippedBlocks:   sr.BlocksSkipped(),
 		},
 	}, nil
 }
diff --git a/modules/ingester/instance_search_test.go b/modules/ingester/instance_search_test.go
index f70a4483a93..eae5950828a 100644
--- a/modules/ingester/instance_search_test.go
+++ b/modules/ingester/instance_search_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/tempopb"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/util"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/util/test"
+	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/search"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
@@ -357,7 +358,8 @@ func TestInstanceSearchMetrics(t *testing.T) {
 
 	search := func() *tempopb.SearchMetrics {
 		sr, err := i.Search(context.Background(), &tempopb.SearchRequest{
-			Tags: map[string]string{"nomatch": "nomatch"},
+			// Exhaustive search
+			Tags: map[string]string{search.SecretExhaustiveSearchTag: "!"},
 		})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		return sr.Metrics
diff --git a/modules/querier/querier.go b/modules/querier/querier.go
index 964a5c0e7bb..7332ef44d06 100644
--- a/modules/querier/querier.go
+++ b/modules/querier/querier.go
@@ -375,6 +375,7 @@ func (q *Querier) postProcessSearchResults(req *tempopb.SearchRequest, rr []resp
 			response.Metrics.InspectedBytes += sr.Metrics.InspectedBytes
 			response.Metrics.InspectedTraces += sr.Metrics.InspectedTraces
 			response.Metrics.InspectedBlocks += sr.Metrics.InspectedBlocks
+			response.Metrics.SkippedBlocks += sr.Metrics.SkippedBlocks
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/tempofb/SearchBlockHeader.go b/pkg/tempofb/SearchBlockHeader.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..70a0b345a2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/tempofb/SearchBlockHeader.go
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+// Code generated by the FlatBuffers compiler. DO NOT EDIT.
+
+package tempofb
+
+import (
+	flatbuffers "github.com/google/flatbuffers/go"
+)
+
+type SearchBlockHeader struct {
+	_tab flatbuffers.Table
+}
+
+func GetRootAsSearchBlockHeader(buf []byte, offset flatbuffers.UOffsetT) *SearchBlockHeader {
+	n := flatbuffers.GetUOffsetT(buf[offset:])
+	x := &SearchBlockHeader{}
+	x.Init(buf, n+offset)
+	return x
+}
+
+func GetSizePrefixedRootAsSearchBlockHeader(buf []byte, offset flatbuffers.UOffsetT) *SearchBlockHeader {
+	n := flatbuffers.GetUOffsetT(buf[offset+flatbuffers.SizeUint32:])
+	x := &SearchBlockHeader{}
+	x.Init(buf, n+offset+flatbuffers.SizeUint32)
+	return x
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) Init(buf []byte, i flatbuffers.UOffsetT) {
+	rcv._tab.Bytes = buf
+	rcv._tab.Pos = i
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) Table() flatbuffers.Table {
+	return rcv._tab
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) Tags(obj *KeyValues, j int) bool {
+	o := flatbuffers.UOffsetT(rcv._tab.Offset(4))
+	if o != 0 {
+		x := rcv._tab.Vector(o)
+		x += flatbuffers.UOffsetT(j) * 4
+		x = rcv._tab.Indirect(x)
+		obj.Init(rcv._tab.Bytes, x)
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) TagsLength() int {
+	o := flatbuffers.UOffsetT(rcv._tab.Offset(4))
+	if o != 0 {
+		return rcv._tab.VectorLen(o)
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) MinDurationNanos() uint64 {
+	o := flatbuffers.UOffsetT(rcv._tab.Offset(6))
+	if o != 0 {
+		return rcv._tab.GetUint64(o + rcv._tab.Pos)
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) MutateMinDurationNanos(n uint64) bool {
+	return rcv._tab.MutateUint64Slot(6, n)
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) MaxDurationNanos() uint64 {
+	o := flatbuffers.UOffsetT(rcv._tab.Offset(8))
+	if o != 0 {
+		return rcv._tab.GetUint64(o + rcv._tab.Pos)
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
+func (rcv *SearchBlockHeader) MutateMaxDurationNanos(n uint64) bool {
+	return rcv._tab.MutateUint64Slot(8, n)
+}
+
+func SearchBlockHeaderStart(builder *flatbuffers.Builder) {
+	builder.StartObject(3)
+}
+func SearchBlockHeaderAddTags(builder *flatbuffers.Builder, tags flatbuffers.UOffsetT) {
+	builder.PrependUOffsetTSlot(0, flatbuffers.UOffsetT(tags), 0)
+}
+func SearchBlockHeaderStartTagsVector(builder *flatbuffers.Builder, numElems int) flatbuffers.UOffsetT {
+	return builder.StartVector(4, numElems, 4)
+}
+func SearchBlockHeaderAddMinDurationNanos(builder *flatbuffers.Builder, minDurationNanos uint64) {
+	builder.PrependUint64Slot(1, minDurationNanos, 0)
+}
+func SearchBlockHeaderAddMaxDurationNanos(builder *flatbuffers.Builder, maxDurationNanos uint64) {
+	builder.PrependUint64Slot(2, maxDurationNanos, 0)
+}
+func SearchBlockHeaderEnd(builder *flatbuffers.Builder) flatbuffers.UOffsetT {
+	return builder.EndObject()
+}
diff --git a/pkg/tempofb/SearchBlockHeader_util.go b/pkg/tempofb/SearchBlockHeader_util.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..82cf22305e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/tempofb/SearchBlockHeader_util.go
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package tempofb
+
+import flatbuffers "github.com/google/flatbuffers/go"
+
+type SearchBlockHeaderBuilder struct {
+	Tags   SearchDataMap
+	MinDur uint64
+	MaxDur uint64
+}
+
+func NewSearchBlockHeaderBuilder() *SearchBlockHeaderBuilder {
+	return &SearchBlockHeaderBuilder{
+		Tags: SearchDataMap{},
+	}
+}
+
+func (s *SearchBlockHeaderBuilder) AddEntry(e *SearchEntry) {
+
+	kv := &KeyValues{} //buffer
+
+	// Record all unique keyvalues
+	for i, ii := 0, e.TagsLength(); i < ii; i++ {
+		e.Tags(kv, i)
+		for j, jj := 0, kv.ValueLength(); j < jj; j++ {
+			s.AddTag(string(kv.Key()), string(kv.Value(j)))
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Record min/max durations
+	dur := e.EndTimeUnixNano() - e.StartTimeUnixNano()
+	if s.MinDur == 0 || dur < s.MinDur {
+		s.MinDur = dur
+	}
+	if dur > s.MaxDur {
+		s.MaxDur = dur
+	}
+}
+
+// AddTag adds the unique tag name and value to the search data. No effect if the pair is already present.
+func (s *SearchBlockHeaderBuilder) AddTag(k string, v string) {
+	s.Tags.Add(k, v)
+}
+
+func (s *SearchBlockHeaderBuilder) ToBytes() []byte {
+	b := flatbuffers.NewBuilder(1024)
+
+	tags := s.Tags.WriteToBuilder(b)
+
+	SearchBlockHeaderStart(b)
+	SearchBlockHeaderAddMinDurationNanos(b, s.MinDur)
+	SearchBlockHeaderAddMaxDurationNanos(b, s.MaxDur)
+	SearchBlockHeaderAddTags(b, tags)
+	offset := SearchBlockHeaderEnd(b)
+	b.Finish(offset)
+	return b.FinishedBytes()
+}
diff --git a/pkg/tempofb/tempo.fbs b/pkg/tempofb/tempo.fbs
index 8a9b74e060f..1a0533ec422 100644
--- a/pkg/tempofb/tempo.fbs
+++ b/pkg/tempofb/tempo.fbs
@@ -22,4 +22,16 @@ table SearchPage {
 
     // Trace entries
     entries : [SearchEntry];
+}
+
+table SearchBlockHeader {
+    // This is a rollup of all distinct tags/values in the
+    // block for quick elimination.
+    tags : [KeyValues];
+
+    // Smallest trace duration in the block
+    min_duration_nanos: uint64;
+
+    // Largest trace duration in the block
+    max_duration_nanos: uint64;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pkg/tempopb/tempo.pb.go b/pkg/tempopb/tempo.pb.go
index 5f5bea0ac0a..b941694a6e2 100644
--- a/pkg/tempopb/tempo.pb.go
+++ b/pkg/tempopb/tempo.pb.go
@@ -342,6 +342,7 @@ type SearchMetrics struct {
 	InspectedTraces uint32 `protobuf:"varint,1,opt,name=inspectedTraces,proto3" json:"inspectedTraces,omitempty"`
 	InspectedBytes  uint64 `protobuf:"varint,2,opt,name=inspectedBytes,proto3" json:"inspectedBytes,omitempty"`
 	InspectedBlocks uint32 `protobuf:"varint,3,opt,name=inspectedBlocks,proto3" json:"inspectedBlocks,omitempty"`
+	SkippedBlocks   uint32 `protobuf:"varint,4,opt,name=skippedBlocks,proto3" json:"skippedBlocks,omitempty"`
 }
 
 func (m *SearchMetrics) Reset()         { *m = SearchMetrics{} }
@@ -398,6 +399,13 @@ func (m *SearchMetrics) GetInspectedBlocks() uint32 {
 	return 0
 }
 
+func (m *SearchMetrics) GetSkippedBlocks() uint32 {
+	if m != nil {
+		return m.SkippedBlocks
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
 type SearchTagsRequest struct {
 }
 
@@ -802,62 +810,63 @@ func init() {
 func init() { proto.RegisterFile("pkg/tempopb/tempo.proto", fileDescriptor_f22805646f4f62b6) }
 
 var fileDescriptor_f22805646f4f62b6 = []byte{
-	// 880 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
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+	// 890 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x84, 0x55, 0x41, 0x8f, 0xda, 0x46,
+	0x14, 0xc6, 0x0b, 0x2c, 0xeb, 0xb7, 0xcb, 0x66, 0x77, 0xb2, 0x01, 0xd7, 0x5d, 0x01, 0xb2, 0x56,
+	0x2d, 0x87, 0x06, 0x12, 0xd2, 0x55, 0x9a, 0xf4, 0x50, 0x09, 0x91, 0xb6, 0x91, 0x4a, 0x94, 0x1a,
+	0x9a, 0xfb, 0x60, 0xa6, 0xac, 0x05, 0xd8, 0xce, 0x78, 0x8c, 0x96, 0x5b, 0x4f, 0x3d, 0xf7, 0xaf,
+	0xe4, 0x5f, 0xe4, 0x52, 0x29, 0xa7, 0xaa, 0xea, 0x21, 0xaa, 0x76, 0xa5, 0xfe, 0x8e, 0x6a, 0x66,
+	0xec, 0xc1, 0x36, 0x24, 0x39, 0xe1, 0xf7, 0xbd, 0xef, 0x3d, 0xcf, 0xfb, 0xfc, 0xbd, 0x01, 0xea,
+	0xc1, 0x7c, 0xd6, 0x65, 0x64, 0x19, 0xf8, 0xc1, 0x44, 0xfe, 0x76, 0x02, 0xea, 0x33, 0x1f, 0x55,
+	0x62, 0xd0, 0x3c, 0x63, 0x14, 0x3b, 0xa4, 0xbb, 0x7a, 0xd8, 0x15, 0x0f, 0x32, 0x6d, 0xde, 0x9f,
+	0xb9, 0xec, 0x2a, 0x9a, 0x74, 0x1c, 0x7f, 0xd9, 0x9d, 0xf9, 0x33, 0xbf, 0x2b, 0xe0, 0x49, 0xf4,
+	0xab, 0x88, 0x44, 0x20, 0x9e, 0x24, 0xdd, 0xfa, 0x5d, 0x83, 0x93, 0x31, 0x2f, 0xef, 0xaf, 0x9f,
+	0x0f, 0x6c, 0xf2, 0x3a, 0x22, 0x21, 0x43, 0x06, 0x54, 0x44, 0xcb, 0xe7, 0x03, 0x43, 0x6b, 0x69,
+	0xed, 0x23, 0x3b, 0x09, 0x51, 0x03, 0x60, 0xb2, 0xf0, 0x9d, 0xf9, 0x88, 0x61, 0xca, 0x8c, 0xbd,
+	0x96, 0xd6, 0xd6, 0xed, 0x14, 0x82, 0x4c, 0x38, 0x10, 0xd1, 0x33, 0x6f, 0x6a, 0x14, 0x45, 0x56,
+	0xc5, 0xe8, 0x1c, 0xf4, 0xd7, 0x11, 0xa1, 0xeb, 0xa1, 0x3f, 0x25, 0x46, 0x59, 0x24, 0x37, 0x80,
+	0xf5, 0x04, 0x4e, 0x53, 0xe7, 0x08, 0x03, 0xdf, 0x0b, 0x09, 0xba, 0x80, 0xb2, 0x78, 0xb3, 0x38,
+	0xc6, 0x61, 0xef, 0xb8, 0x13, 0xcf, 0xde, 0x11, 0x54, 0x5b, 0x26, 0xad, 0xff, 0x34, 0xa8, 0x8e,
+	0x08, 0xa6, 0xce, 0x55, 0x32, 0xc0, 0x53, 0x28, 0x8d, 0xf1, 0x2c, 0x34, 0xb4, 0x56, 0xb1, 0x7d,
+	0xd8, 0x6b, 0xa9, 0xb2, 0x0c, 0xab, 0xc3, 0x29, 0xcf, 0x3c, 0x46, 0xd7, 0xfd, 0xd2, 0xdb, 0xf7,
+	0xcd, 0x82, 0x2d, 0x6a, 0xd0, 0x05, 0x54, 0x87, 0xae, 0x37, 0x88, 0x28, 0x66, 0xae, 0xef, 0x0d,
+	0x43, 0x31, 0x65, 0xd5, 0xce, 0x82, 0x82, 0x85, 0xaf, 0x53, 0xac, 0x62, 0xcc, 0x4a, 0x83, 0xe8,
+	0x0c, 0xca, 0x3f, 0xb9, 0x4b, 0x97, 0x19, 0x25, 0x91, 0x95, 0x81, 0xf9, 0x18, 0x74, 0xf5, 0x6a,
+	0x74, 0x02, 0xc5, 0x39, 0x59, 0x8b, 0x01, 0x75, 0x9b, 0x3f, 0xf2, 0xa2, 0x15, 0x5e, 0x44, 0x24,
+	0x96, 0x57, 0x06, 0x4f, 0xf7, 0xbe, 0xd1, 0xac, 0x6b, 0x38, 0x4e, 0x26, 0x88, 0x05, 0xfa, 0x1a,
+	0xf6, 0x85, 0x06, 0xc9, 0xa8, 0xe7, 0x59, 0x85, 0x24, 0x7b, 0x48, 0x18, 0x9e, 0x62, 0x86, 0xed,
+	0x98, 0x8b, 0x1e, 0x40, 0x65, 0x49, 0x18, 0x75, 0x1d, 0x39, 0xdc, 0x61, 0xaf, 0x96, 0x53, 0x68,
+	0x28, 0xb3, 0x76, 0x42, 0xb3, 0xfe, 0xd4, 0xe0, 0xee, 0x8e, 0x8e, 0x79, 0xa7, 0xe8, 0x1b, 0xa7,
+	0xb4, 0xe1, 0x0e, 0xf5, 0x7d, 0x36, 0x22, 0x74, 0xe5, 0x3a, 0xe4, 0x05, 0x5e, 0x26, 0xf3, 0xe4,
+	0x61, 0x2e, 0x25, 0x87, 0x44, 0x7b, 0xc1, 0x93, 0xc6, 0xc9, 0x82, 0xe8, 0x2b, 0x38, 0x0d, 0xb9,
+	0xc5, 0xc6, 0xee, 0x92, 0xfc, 0xe2, 0xb9, 0xd7, 0x2f, 0xb0, 0xe7, 0x0b, 0x59, 0x4b, 0xf6, 0x76,
+	0x82, 0xfb, 0x74, 0xba, 0xf9, 0x36, 0x65, 0xa1, 0x7e, 0x0a, 0xb1, 0xde, 0x28, 0xcb, 0xc4, 0xa3,
+	0xf2, 0xf3, 0xba, 0x5e, 0x18, 0x10, 0x87, 0x91, 0xe9, 0x38, 0x91, 0x94, 0x97, 0xe5, 0x61, 0xf4,
+	0x05, 0x1c, 0x2b, 0xa8, 0xbf, 0x66, 0x44, 0x8a, 0x58, 0xb2, 0x73, 0x68, 0xa6, 0x63, 0x9f, 0x2f,
+	0x41, 0x62, 0x92, 0x3c, 0xcc, 0x15, 0x08, 0xe7, 0x6e, 0x10, 0x28, 0x9e, 0xb4, 0x4b, 0x16, 0xb4,
+	0xee, 0xc2, 0xa9, 0x3c, 0x32, 0x37, 0x4f, 0xec, 0x61, 0xeb, 0x01, 0xa0, 0x34, 0x18, 0xdb, 0xc2,
+	0x84, 0x03, 0x86, 0x67, 0x5c, 0x37, 0x69, 0x0c, 0xdd, 0x56, 0xb1, 0xd5, 0x83, 0x9a, 0xaa, 0x78,
+	0xc5, 0xad, 0x15, 0xa6, 0xd7, 0x5e, 0xb2, 0xd4, 0xc7, 0x94, 0xa1, 0xf5, 0x18, 0xea, 0x5b, 0x35,
+	0xf1, 0xab, 0xce, 0x41, 0x67, 0x09, 0x18, 0xbf, 0x6b, 0x03, 0x58, 0x7d, 0x28, 0x0b, 0xd5, 0xd0,
+	0x13, 0xa8, 0x4c, 0x30, 0x73, 0xae, 0x94, 0x53, 0x9b, 0xca, 0x72, 0xf2, 0xf6, 0x5a, 0x3d, 0xec,
+	0xd8, 0x24, 0xf4, 0x23, 0xea, 0x90, 0x51, 0x80, 0xbd, 0xd0, 0x4e, 0xf8, 0xd6, 0x00, 0x0e, 0x5f,
+	0x46, 0xa1, 0xda, 0xed, 0x4b, 0x28, 0x8b, 0x4c, 0x7c, 0x27, 0x7c, 0xb2, 0x8f, 0x64, 0x5b, 0xc7,
+	0x70, 0x24, 0xbb, 0xc8, 0x73, 0x5b, 0x7f, 0x69, 0x70, 0xc2, 0x01, 0xf1, 0xad, 0x92, 0xde, 0x8f,
+	0xe0, 0x80, 0xca, 0x47, 0x79, 0xcc, 0xa3, 0x7e, 0x9d, 0xdf, 0x0c, 0xff, 0xbc, 0x6f, 0x56, 0x5f,
+	0x52, 0x82, 0x17, 0x0b, 0xdf, 0x91, 0x5f, 0x5c, 0xb3, 0x15, 0x11, 0xdd, 0x57, 0x3b, 0xb8, 0x27,
+	0x4a, 0xee, 0xed, 0x2c, 0x51, 0xcb, 0xf7, 0x25, 0x14, 0xdd, 0x29, 0xb7, 0xc2, 0x47, 0xb8, 0x9c,
+	0x81, 0x2e, 0x01, 0x42, 0x21, 0xfa, 0x00, 0x33, 0x6c, 0x94, 0x3e, 0xc6, 0x4f, 0x11, 0xad, 0x0b,
+	0x80, 0xf8, 0x22, 0xe5, 0x26, 0xac, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x88, 0xa3, 0xe4, 0x14, 0xbd, 0xdf, 0x34, 0xd8,
+	0xe7, 0xe3, 0x13, 0x8a, 0x2e, 0xa1, 0xc4, 0x9f, 0xd0, 0x99, 0x52, 0x32, 0x25, 0xb7, 0x79, 0x2f,
+	0x87, 0xc6, 0xf2, 0x15, 0xd0, 0x77, 0xa0, 0x2b, 0xfd, 0xd0, 0x67, 0x19, 0x56, 0x5a, 0xd3, 0x0f,
+	0x36, 0xe8, 0xbd, 0xd9, 0x83, 0xca, 0xcf, 0x11, 0xa1, 0x2e, 0xa1, 0xe8, 0x47, 0xa8, 0x7e, 0xef,
+	0x7a, 0x53, 0xf5, 0x0f, 0x90, 0x6a, 0x98, 0xff, 0x77, 0x32, 0xcd, 0x5d, 0x29, 0x75, 0xac, 0x6f,
+	0x61, 0x5f, 0x5a, 0x15, 0xd5, 0x76, 0x5f, 0xfb, 0x66, 0x7d, 0x0b, 0x57, 0xc5, 0x3f, 0x00, 0x6c,
+	0xb6, 0x09, 0x99, 0x39, 0x62, 0x6a, 0xef, 0xcc, 0xcf, 0x77, 0xe6, 0x54, 0xa3, 0x57, 0x70, 0x27,
+	0xb7, 0x30, 0xa8, 0xb9, 0x5d, 0x91, 0x59, 0x3f, 0xb3, 0xf5, 0x61, 0x42, 0xd2, 0xb7, 0x6f, 0xbc,
+	0xbd, 0x69, 0x68, 0xef, 0x6e, 0x1a, 0xda, 0xbf, 0x37, 0x0d, 0xed, 0x8f, 0xdb, 0x46, 0xe1, 0xdd,
+	0x6d, 0xa3, 0xf0, 0xf7, 0x6d, 0xa3, 0x30, 0xd9, 0x17, 0xff, 0xe7, 0x8f, 0xfe, 0x0f, 0x00, 0x00,
+	0xff, 0xff, 0xcf, 0x63, 0xe2, 0x49, 0x38, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
 
 // Reference imports to suppress errors if they are not otherwise used.
@@ -1422,6 +1431,11 @@ func (m *SearchMetrics) MarshalToSizedBuffer(dAtA []byte) (int, error) {
 	_ = i
 	var l int
 	_ = l
+	if m.SkippedBlocks != 0 {
+		i = encodeVarintTempo(dAtA, i, uint64(m.SkippedBlocks))
+		i--
+		dAtA[i] = 0x20
+	}
 	if m.InspectedBlocks != 0 {
 		i = encodeVarintTempo(dAtA, i, uint64(m.InspectedBlocks))
 		i--
@@ -1899,6 +1913,9 @@ func (m *SearchMetrics) Size() (n int) {
 	if m.InspectedBlocks != 0 {
 		n += 1 + sovTempo(uint64(m.InspectedBlocks))
 	}
+	if m.SkippedBlocks != 0 {
+		n += 1 + sovTempo(uint64(m.SkippedBlocks))
+	}
 	return n
 }
 
@@ -2935,6 +2952,25 @@ func (m *SearchMetrics) Unmarshal(dAtA []byte) error {
 					break
 				}
 			}
+		case 4:
+			if wireType != 0 {
+				return fmt.Errorf("proto: wrong wireType = %d for field SkippedBlocks", wireType)
+			}
+			m.SkippedBlocks = 0
+			for shift := uint(0); ; shift += 7 {
+				if shift >= 64 {
+					return ErrIntOverflowTempo
+				}
+				if iNdEx >= l {
+					return io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
+				}
+				b := dAtA[iNdEx]
+				iNdEx++
+				m.SkippedBlocks |= uint32(b&0x7F) << shift
+				if b < 0x80 {
+					break
+				}
+			}
 		default:
 			iNdEx = preIndex
 			skippy, err := skipTempo(dAtA[iNdEx:])
diff --git a/pkg/tempopb/tempo.proto b/pkg/tempopb/tempo.proto
index 6fd1025c698..a72fb93c254 100644
--- a/pkg/tempopb/tempo.proto
+++ b/pkg/tempopb/tempo.proto
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ message SearchMetrics {
   uint32 inspectedTraces = 1;
   uint64 inspectedBytes = 2;
   uint32 inspectedBlocks = 3;
+  uint32 skippedBlocks = 4;
 }
 
 message SearchTagsRequest {
@@ -93,18 +94,8 @@ message PushBytesRequest {
   repeated bytes ids = 3 [(gogoproto.nullable) = false, (gogoproto.customtype) = "PreallocBytes"];
   // search data, length must match traces
   repeated bytes searchData = 4 [(gogoproto.nullable) = false, (gogoproto.customtype) = "PreallocBytes"];
-  //repeated SearchData searchData = 4 [(gogoproto.nullable) = false];
 }
 
-/*message SearchData {
-  map<string, string> RootData = 1 [(gogoproto.nullable) = false];
-}*/
-
-
-/*message TraceHeader {
-  string rootSpanName = 1;
-  map<string, string> rootSpanTags = 2; 
-}*/
 
 message TraceBytes {
   // pre-marshalled Traces
diff --git a/tempodb/search/backend_search_block.go b/tempodb/search/backend_search_block.go
index 066bbe983db..8f5705d5a5f 100644
--- a/tempodb/search/backend_search_block.go
+++ b/tempodb/search/backend_search_block.go
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"io"
-	"os"
 
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 
+	tempo_io "github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/io"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/tempofb"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/backend"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/backend/local"
@@ -26,78 +26,6 @@ type BackendSearchBlock struct {
 	l        *local.Backend
 }
 
-//nolint:golint
-type SearchDataCombiner struct{}
-
-func (*SearchDataCombiner) Combine(_ string, searchData ...[]byte) ([]byte, bool) {
-
-	if len(searchData) <= 0 {
-		return nil, false
-	}
-
-	if len(searchData) == 1 {
-		return searchData[0], false
-	}
-
-	// Squash all datas into 1
-	data := tempofb.SearchEntryMutable{}
-	kv := &tempofb.KeyValues{} // buffer
-	for _, sb := range searchData {
-		sd := tempofb.SearchEntryFromBytes(sb)
-		for i := 0; i < sd.TagsLength(); i++ {
-			sd.Tags(kv, i)
-			for j := 0; j < kv.ValueLength(); j++ {
-				data.AddTag(string(kv.Key()), string(kv.Value(j)))
-			}
-		}
-		data.SetStartTimeUnixNano(sd.StartTimeUnixNano())
-		data.SetEndTimeUnixNano(sd.EndTimeUnixNano())
-		data.TraceID = sd.Id()
-	}
-
-	return data.ToBytes(), true
-}
-
-var _ common.ObjectCombiner = (*SearchDataCombiner)(nil)
-
-//nolint:golint
-type SearchDataIterator struct {
-	currentIndex int
-	records      []common.Record
-	file         *os.File
-
-	buffer []byte
-}
-
-func (s *SearchDataIterator) Next(_ context.Context) (common.ID, []byte, error) {
-	if s.currentIndex >= len(s.records) {
-		return nil, nil, io.EOF
-	}
-
-	currentRecord := s.records[s.currentIndex]
-
-	// resize/extend buffer
-	if cap(s.buffer) < int(currentRecord.Length) {
-		s.buffer = make([]byte, currentRecord.Length)
-	}
-	s.buffer = s.buffer[:currentRecord.Length]
-
-	_, err := s.file.ReadAt(s.buffer, int64(currentRecord.Start))
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "error reading search file")
-	}
-
-	s.currentIndex++
-
-	return currentRecord.ID, s.buffer, nil
-}
-
-func (*SearchDataIterator) Close() {
-	// file will be closed by StreamingSearchBlock
-}
-
-var _ encoding.Iterator = (*SearchDataIterator)(nil)
-
 // NewBackendSearchBlock iterates through the given WAL search data and writes it to the persistent backend
 // in a more efficient paged form. Multiple traces are written in the same page to make sure of the flatbuffer
 // CreateSharedString feature which dedupes strings across the entire buffer.
@@ -117,26 +45,21 @@ func NewBackendSearchBlock(input *StreamingSearchBlock, l *local.Backend, blockI
 		pageSizeBytes = defaultBackendSearchBlockPageSize
 	}
 
+	header := tempofb.NewSearchBlockHeaderBuilder()
+
 	w, err := newBackendSearchBlockWriter(blockID, tenantID, l, version, enc)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	a := encoding.NewBufferedAppenderGeneric(w, pageSizeBytes)
 
-	// set up deduping iterator for streaming search block
-	combiner := &SearchDataCombiner{}
-	searchIterator := &SearchDataIterator{
-		records: input.appender.Records(),
-		file:    input.file,
-	}
-	iter, err := encoding.NewDedupingIterator(searchIterator, combiner, "")
+	iter, err := input.Iterator()
 	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "error creating deduping iterator")
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "error getting streaming search block iterator")
 	}
-	a := encoding.NewBufferedAppenderGeneric(w, pageSizeBytes)
 
 	// Copy records into the appender
 	for {
-
 		// Read
 		id, data, err := iter.Next(ctx)
 		if err != nil && err != io.EOF {
@@ -152,16 +75,18 @@ func NewBackendSearchBlock(input *StreamingSearchBlock, l *local.Backend, blockI
 		}
 
 		s := tempofb.SearchEntryFromBytes(data)
+
+		header.AddEntry(s)
+
 		entry := &tempofb.SearchEntryMutable{
 			TraceID:           id,
 			StartTimeUnixNano: s.StartTimeUnixNano(),
 			EndTimeUnixNano:   s.EndTimeUnixNano(),
 		}
 
-		l := s.TagsLength()
-		for i := 0; i < l; i++ {
+		for i, l := 0, s.TagsLength(); i < l; i++ {
 			s.Tags(kv, i)
-			for j := 0; j < kv.ValueLength(); j++ {
+			for j, ll := 0, kv.ValueLength(); j < ll; j++ {
 				entry.AddTag(string(kv.Key()), string(kv.Value(j)))
 			}
 		}
@@ -189,6 +114,13 @@ func NewBackendSearchBlock(input *StreamingSearchBlock, l *local.Backend, blockI
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Write header
+	hb := header.ToBytes()
+	err = l.Write(ctx, "search-header", backend.KeyPathForBlock(blockID, tenantID), bytes.NewReader(hb), int64(len(hb)), true)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Write meta
 	sm := &BlockMeta{
 		IndexPageSize: uint32(indexPageSize),
@@ -216,8 +148,6 @@ func (s *BackendSearchBlock) Search(ctx context.Context, p Pipeline, sr *Results
 	indexBuf := []common.Record{{}}
 	entry := &tempofb.SearchEntry{} // Buffer
 
-	sr.AddBlockInspected()
-
 	meta, err := ReadSearchBlockMeta(ctx, s.l, s.id, s.tenantID)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -228,6 +158,29 @@ func (s *BackendSearchBlock) Search(ctx context.Context, p Pipeline, sr *Results
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Read header
+	// Verify something in the block matches by checking the header
+	hbr, hbrlen, err := s.l.Read(ctx, "search-header", backend.KeyPathForBlock(s.id, s.tenantID), true)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	sr.bytesInspected.Add(uint64(hbrlen))
+
+	hb, err := tempo_io.ReadAllWithEstimate(hbr, hbrlen)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	header := tempofb.GetRootAsSearchBlockHeader(hb, 0)
+	if !p.MatchesBlock(header) {
+		// Block filtered out
+		sr.AddBlockSkipped()
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	sr.AddBlockInspected()
+
 	// Read index
 	bmeta := backend.NewBlockMeta(s.tenantID, s.id, meta.Version, meta.Encoding, "")
 	cr := backend.NewContextReader(bmeta, "search-index", backend.NewReader(s.l), false)
@@ -270,20 +223,19 @@ func (s *BackendSearchBlock) Search(ctx context.Context, p Pipeline, sr *Results
 
 		sr.AddBytesInspected(uint64(len(dataBuf)))
 
-		batch := tempofb.GetRootAsSearchPage(dataBuf, 0)
-
-		// Verify something in the batch matches
-		if !p.MatchesTags(batch) {
+		page := tempofb.GetRootAsSearchPage(dataBuf, 0)
+		if !p.MatchesPage(page) {
+			// Nothing in the page matches
 			// Increment metric still
-			sr.AddTraceInspected(uint32(batch.EntriesLength()))
+			sr.AddTraceInspected(uint32(page.EntriesLength()))
 			continue
 		}
 
-		l := batch.EntriesLength()
+		l := page.EntriesLength()
 		for j := 0; j < l; j++ {
 			sr.AddTraceInspected(1)
 
-			batch.Entries(entry, j)
+			page.Entries(entry, j)
 
 			if !p.Matches(entry) {
 				continue
diff --git a/tempodb/search/backend_search_block_test.go b/tempodb/search/backend_search_block_test.go
index 30ce3b0e0c0..5322c6b5336 100644
--- a/tempodb/search/backend_search_block_test.go
+++ b/tempodb/search/backend_search_block_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package search
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"encoding/binary"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path"
@@ -15,7 +16,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/tempopb"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/backend"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/backend/local"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
@@ -28,15 +28,16 @@ func genSearchData(traceID []byte, i int) [][]byte {
 }
 
 func newBackendSearchBlockWithTraces(t testing.TB, traceCount int, enc backend.Encoding, pageSizeBytes int) *BackendSearchBlock {
-	id := []byte{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15} // 16-byte ids required
-
 	f, err := os.OpenFile(path.Join(t.TempDir(), "searchdata"), os.O_CREATE|os.O_RDWR, 0644)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	b1, err := NewStreamingSearchBlockForFile(f)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
+
 	for i := 0; i < traceCount; i++ {
-		assert.NoError(t, b1.Append(context.Background(), id, genSearchData(id, i)))
+		id := make([]byte, 16)
+		binary.LittleEndian.PutUint32(id, uint32(i))
+		require.NoError(t, b1.Append(context.Background(), id, genSearchData(id, i)))
 	}
 
 	l, err := local.NewBackend(&local.Config{
@@ -54,12 +55,12 @@ func newBackendSearchBlockWithTraces(t testing.TB, traceCount int, enc backend.E
 }
 
 func TestBackendSearchBlockSearch(t *testing.T) {
-	traceCount := 1_000
+	traceCount := 50_000
 
 	b2 := newBackendSearchBlockWithTraces(t, traceCount, backend.EncNone, 0)
 
 	p := NewSearchPipeline(&tempopb.SearchRequest{
-		Tags: map[string]string{"key1": "value_A_1", "key20": "value_B_20"},
+		Tags: map[string]string{"key20": "value_B_20"},
 	})
 
 	sr := NewResults()
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ func TestBackendSearchBlockSearch(t *testing.T) {
 		results = append(results, r)
 	}
 	require.Equal(t, 1, len(results))
-	require.Equal(t, 1, int(sr.TracesInspected()))
+	require.Equal(t, traceCount, int(sr.TracesInspected()))
 }
 
 func BenchmarkBackendSearchBlockSearch(b *testing.B) {
@@ -89,9 +90,9 @@ func BenchmarkBackendSearchBlockSearch(b *testing.B) {
 
 				b2 := newBackendSearchBlockWithTraces(b, b.N, enc, int(sz*1024*1024))
 
-				// Matches nothing, will perform an exhaustive search.
+				// Use secret tag to perform exhaustive search
 				p := NewSearchPipeline(&tempopb.SearchRequest{
-					Tags: map[string]string{"nomatch": "nomatch"},
+					Tags: map[string]string{SecretExhaustiveSearchTag: "!"},
 				})
 
 				sr := NewResults()
@@ -114,7 +115,6 @@ func BenchmarkBackendSearchBlockSearch(b *testing.B) {
 				}
 				wg.Wait()
 				elapsed := time.Since(start)
-
 				fmt.Printf("BackendSearchBlock search throughput: %v elapsed %.2f MB = %.2f MiB/s \t %d traces = %.2fM traces/s \n",
 					elapsed,
 					float64(sr.bytesInspected.Load())/(1024*1024),
diff --git a/tempodb/search/data_combiner.go b/tempodb/search/data_combiner.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..41387ed0b9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tempodb/search/data_combiner.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package search
+
+import (
+	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/tempofb"
+	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/encoding/common"
+)
+
+type DataCombiner struct{}
+
+var _ common.ObjectCombiner = (*DataCombiner)(nil)
+
+var staticCombiner = DataCombiner{}
+
+func (*DataCombiner) Combine(_ string, searchData ...[]byte) ([]byte, bool) {
+
+	if len(searchData) <= 0 {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+
+	if len(searchData) == 1 {
+		return searchData[0], false
+	}
+
+	// Squash all datas into 1
+	data := tempofb.SearchEntryMutable{}
+	kv := &tempofb.KeyValues{} // buffer
+	for _, sb := range searchData {
+		sd := tempofb.SearchEntryFromBytes(sb)
+		for i, ii := 0, sd.TagsLength(); i < ii; i++ {
+			sd.Tags(kv, i)
+			for j, jj := 0, kv.ValueLength(); j < jj; j++ {
+				data.AddTag(string(kv.Key()), string(kv.Value(j)))
+			}
+		}
+
+		data.SetStartTimeUnixNano(sd.StartTimeUnixNano())
+		data.SetEndTimeUnixNano(sd.EndTimeUnixNano())
+		data.TraceID = sd.Id()
+	}
+
+	return data.ToBytes(), true
+}
diff --git a/tempodb/search/pipeline.go b/tempodb/search/pipeline.go
index f3b76d208c0..b7c946dc847 100644
--- a/tempodb/search/pipeline.go
+++ b/tempodb/search/pipeline.go
@@ -8,11 +8,15 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/tempopb"
 )
 
-type tracefilter func(header *tempofb.SearchEntry) (matches bool)
-type tagfilter func(c tempofb.TagContainer) (matches bool)
+const SecretExhaustiveSearchTag = "x-dbg-exhaustive"
+
+type tracefilter func(entry *tempofb.SearchEntry) (matches bool)
+type tagfilter func(page tempofb.TagContainer) (matches bool)
+type blockfilter func(header *tempofb.SearchBlockHeader) (matches bool)
 
 type Pipeline struct {
-	tagfilters   []tagfilter
+	blockfilters []blockfilter
+	tagfilters   []tagfilter // shared by pages and traces
 	tracefilters []tracefilter
 }
 
@@ -20,16 +24,32 @@ func NewSearchPipeline(req *tempopb.SearchRequest) Pipeline {
 	p := Pipeline{}
 
 	if req.MinDurationMs > 0 {
-		minDuration := uint64(time.Duration(req.MinDurationMs) * time.Millisecond)
+		minDurationNanos := uint64(time.Duration(req.MinDurationMs) * time.Millisecond)
+
 		p.tracefilters = append(p.tracefilters, func(s *tempofb.SearchEntry) bool {
-			return (s.EndTimeUnixNano() - s.StartTimeUnixNano()) >= minDuration
+			et := s.EndTimeUnixNano()
+			st := s.StartTimeUnixNano()
+			return (et - st) >= minDurationNanos
+		})
+
+		p.blockfilters = append(p.blockfilters, func(s *tempofb.SearchBlockHeader) bool {
+			max := s.MaxDurationNanos()
+			return max >= minDurationNanos
 		})
 	}
 
 	if req.MaxDurationMs > 0 {
-		maxDuration := uint64(time.Duration(req.MaxDurationMs) * time.Millisecond)
+		maxDurationNanos := uint64(time.Duration(req.MaxDurationMs) * time.Millisecond)
+
 		p.tracefilters = append(p.tracefilters, func(s *tempofb.SearchEntry) bool {
-			return (s.EndTimeUnixNano() - s.StartTimeUnixNano()) <= maxDuration
+			et := s.EndTimeUnixNano()
+			st := s.StartTimeUnixNano()
+			return (et - st) <= maxDurationNanos
+		})
+
+		p.blockfilters = append(p.blockfilters, func(s *tempofb.SearchBlockHeader) bool {
+			min := s.MinDurationNanos()
+			return min <= maxDurationNanos
 		})
 	}
 
@@ -39,6 +59,17 @@ func NewSearchPipeline(req *tempopb.SearchRequest) Pipeline {
 		vb := make([][]byte, 0, len(req.Tags))
 
 		for k, v := range req.Tags {
+			if k == SecretExhaustiveSearchTag {
+				// Perform an exhaustive search by:
+				// * no block or page filters means all blocks and pages match
+				// * substitute this trace filter instead rejects everything. therefore it never
+				//   quits early due to enough results
+				p.tracefilters = append(p.tracefilters, func(s *tempofb.SearchEntry) bool {
+					return false
+				})
+				continue
+			}
+
 			kb = append(kb, []byte(strings.ToLower(k)))
 			vb = append(vb, []byte(strings.ToLower(v)))
 		}
@@ -60,16 +91,16 @@ func NewSearchPipeline(req *tempopb.SearchRequest) Pipeline {
 	return p
 }
 
-func (p *Pipeline) Matches(header *tempofb.SearchEntry) bool {
+func (p *Pipeline) Matches(e *tempofb.SearchEntry) bool {
 
 	for _, f := range p.tracefilters {
-		if !f(header) {
+		if !f(e) {
 			return false
 		}
 	}
 
 	for _, f := range p.tagfilters {
-		if !f(header) {
+		if !f(e) {
 			return false
 		}
 	}
@@ -77,10 +108,26 @@ func (p *Pipeline) Matches(header *tempofb.SearchEntry) bool {
 	return true
 }
 
-func (p *Pipeline) MatchesTags(c tempofb.TagContainer) bool {
+// nolint:interfacer
+func (p *Pipeline) MatchesPage(pg *tempofb.SearchPage) bool {
+	for _, f := range p.tagfilters {
+		if !f(pg) {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+
+	return true
+}
+
+func (p *Pipeline) MatchesBlock(block *tempofb.SearchBlockHeader) bool {
+	for _, f := range p.blockfilters {
+		if !f(block) {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
 
 	for _, f := range p.tagfilters {
-		if !f(c) {
+		if !f(block) {
 			return false
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/tempodb/search/pipeline_test.go b/tempodb/search/pipeline_test.go
index 0348bf93200..8a25a2609a6 100644
--- a/tempodb/search/pipeline_test.go
+++ b/tempodb/search/pipeline_test.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func TestPipelineMatchesTags(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestPipelineMatchesDuratiob(t *testing.T) {
+func TestPipelineMatchesTraceDuration(t *testing.T) {
 
 	testCases := []struct {
 		name          string
@@ -133,6 +133,56 @@ func TestPipelineMatchesDuratiob(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestPipelineMatchesBlock(t *testing.T) {
+
+	// Run all tests against this header
+	commonBlock := tempofb.NewSearchBlockHeaderBuilder()
+	commonBlock.AddTag("tag", "value")
+	commonBlock.MinDur = uint64(1 * time.Second)
+	commonBlock.MaxDur = uint64(10 * time.Second)
+	header := tempofb.GetRootAsSearchBlockHeader(commonBlock.ToBytes(), 0)
+
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name        string
+		request     tempopb.SearchRequest
+		shouldMatch bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:        "no filters",
+			request:     tempopb.SearchRequest{},
+			shouldMatch: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "matches all",
+			request:     tempopb.SearchRequest{Tags: map[string]string{"tag": "value"}, MinDurationMs: 5000, MaxDurationMs: 6000},
+			shouldMatch: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "no matching tag",
+			request:     tempopb.SearchRequest{Tags: map[string]string{"nomatch": "value"}},
+			shouldMatch: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "no matching min duration",
+			request:     tempopb.SearchRequest{MinDurationMs: 20000}, // Above max duration in block
+			shouldMatch: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "no matching max duration",
+			request:     tempopb.SearchRequest{MaxDurationMs: 500}, // Below smallest duration in block
+			shouldMatch: false,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			p := NewSearchPipeline(&tc.request)
+			matches := p.MatchesBlock(header)
+			require.Equal(t, tc.shouldMatch, matches)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func BenchmarkPipelineMatches(b *testing.B) {
 
 	entry := tempofb.SearchEntryFromBytes((&tempofb.SearchEntryMutable{
diff --git a/tempodb/search/results.go b/tempodb/search/results.go
index bc7a2c19688..5d56aa79c87 100644
--- a/tempodb/search/results.go
+++ b/tempodb/search/results.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ type Results struct {
 	tracesInspected atomic.Uint32
 	bytesInspected  atomic.Uint64
 	blocksInspected atomic.Uint32
+	blocksSkipped   atomic.Uint32
 }
 
 func NewResults() *Results {
@@ -125,3 +126,11 @@ func (sr *Results) AddBlockInspected() {
 func (sr *Results) BlocksInspected() uint32 {
 	return sr.blocksInspected.Load()
 }
+
+func (sr *Results) AddBlockSkipped() {
+	sr.blocksSkipped.Inc()
+}
+
+func (sr *Results) BlocksSkipped() uint32 {
+	return sr.blocksSkipped.Load()
+}
diff --git a/tempodb/search/streaming_search_block.go b/tempodb/search/streaming_search_block.go
index c659e2d88af..22e364dee6e 100644
--- a/tempodb/search/streaming_search_block.go
+++ b/tempodb/search/streaming_search_block.go
@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@ package search
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"io"
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/pkg/tempofb"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/encoding"
 	"github.com/grafana/tempo/tempodb/encoding/common"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 )
 
 var _ SearchableBlock = (*StreamingSearchBlock)(nil)
@@ -67,7 +69,7 @@ func NewStreamingSearchBlockForFile(f *os.File) (*StreamingSearchBlock, error) {
 // Append the given search data to the streaming block. Multiple byte buffers of search data for
 // the same trace can be passed and are merged into one entry.
 func (s *StreamingSearchBlock) Append(ctx context.Context, id common.ID, searchData [][]byte) error {
-	combined, _ := (&SearchDataCombiner{}).Combine("", searchData...)
+	combined, _ := staticCombiner.Combine("", searchData...)
 	return s.appender.Append(id, combined)
 }
 
@@ -120,3 +122,47 @@ func (s *StreamingSearchBlock) Search(ctx context.Context, p Pipeline, sr *Resul
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+func (s *StreamingSearchBlock) Iterator() (encoding.Iterator, error) {
+	iter := &streamingSearchBlockIterator{
+		records: s.appender.Records(),
+		file:    s.file,
+	}
+
+	combiner := &DataCombiner{}
+
+	// Streaming (wal) blocks have to be deduped.
+	return encoding.NewDedupingIterator(iter, combiner, "")
+}
+
+type streamingSearchBlockIterator struct {
+	currentIndex int
+	records      []common.Record
+	file         *os.File
+}
+
+var _ encoding.Iterator = (*streamingSearchBlockIterator)(nil)
+
+func (s *streamingSearchBlockIterator) Next(_ context.Context) (common.ID, []byte, error) {
+	if s.currentIndex >= len(s.records) {
+		return nil, nil, io.EOF
+	}
+
+	currentRecord := s.records[s.currentIndex]
+
+	// Use unique buffer that can be returned to the caller.
+	// This is primarily for DedupingIterator which uses 2 buffers at once.
+	buffer := make([]byte, currentRecord.Length)
+	_, err := s.file.ReadAt(buffer, int64(currentRecord.Start))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, errors.Wrap(err, "error reading search file")
+	}
+
+	s.currentIndex++
+
+	return currentRecord.ID, buffer, nil
+}
+
+func (*streamingSearchBlockIterator) Close() {
+	// file will be closed by StreamingSearchBlock
+}