HARD Summer Proves To Be One of The Top Festivals of The Summer – [Read]

HARD Summer delivered incredible energy and had people dancing their hearts out through the day and night. 

The near triple-digit heat stood no chance at stopping the ravers from getting back from a near 18 month hiatus of festivals. Serving as one of Insomniac’s first major in-person event in such a long time, the prolific event company made sure to come back with a bang. 

Starting Day 1 off strong, HARD Summer had some notable performances from singer/songwriter/producer extraordinaire, Anabel Englund, and rising tech-house talent, Ranger Trucco. The day also brought a sunset performance from mixing legend, A-Trak, who delivered a variety of electronic soundstyles and even brought out of the moment star, Kito. Other standouts of the day were Walker & Royce, who dominated of the pink stage and RL Grime’s iconic B2B with the infamous, Bauuer. Ending the night at the Harder Stage was none other than bass pioneer, REZZ, who brought out actress-singer Dove Cameron to perform their new song, “Taste of You.”

With such amazing acts throughout the day, attendees still had chances to cool off with massive fans and misting attendants at a number of spots around the NOS Events Center. Spotted all around the grounds were people holding Liquid Death, which despite its name, is merely mineral water; providing a sense that ravers are beginning to find balance at festivals of this nature. 

Day 2 of HARD Summer proved to carry on from the momentum of the previous day, with acts bringing more energy, special guests, and unreleased tracks throughout the day. Special sets at the surprise Corona Electric Beach allowed Wax Motif, Softest Hard, and Nitti Gritti to deliver a second set for all of their die hard fans. An early notable performance came from Wuki B2B Nitti Gritti, which saw a flood of people come solely to turn up with the party animals. Joyryde’s performance at the HARD Stage had everyone shuffling, raging, or losing it in the VIP pool just to the left of the stage.

Dillon Francis’s extended set was an energetic hodge podge of house, reggaeton, 80’s throwbacks, and everything in between, which somehow managed to get the crowd moving more than any other set that day.  The final headliners close the largest stage of the weekend was DJ Snake B2B Malaa, an unprecedented act that had many flock to the area to witness the duo’s insane energy. 

While the announcement of the festival occurred when the pandemic was worsening in Southern California, the rise of the Delta Variant made many concerned for the safety of the event. Insomniac did not require proof of vaccine or negative covid test like other events have in recent times, but some of the other efforts put in place helped ease the worries of attendees.

Masks were handed out, hand-washing stations were placed all around the grounds, and most notable, vaccines were administered at designated tents. This might have seemed like a lost cause, but after seeing people go in and out of the tents, knowing that even one person was able to get vaccinated shines a light on the possibilities for future events. 

Insomniac proved that the long wait was worth it with the return of one of Southern California’s most prominent festivals. The stage production was on another level, giving fans the visual stimulation necessary to compliment the soundscape around the festival grounds. Additionally, they managed to make drastic improvements to the shuttle situation overnight— having more shuttles arrive and developing a more efficient system that cut the wait time down significantly. Overall, HARD Summer set a precedent for the next set of festivals to come and is sure to go down as a hallmark for electronic and rap events.

Featured Photo by Taylor Wallace for Insomniac Events