HARD Summer Solidifies Spot As Los Angeles’ Premier Dance Music Festival In 15th Edition

Hard Summer solidifies its marks as the return of Insomniac Events to Los Angeles fulfilling dreams and packed stadiums.

Whether you are a new or seasoned festival attendee, this past weekend we all shared in a new experience. Insomniac has slowly made their return to the Los Angeles area, but HARD Summer marked the first large-scale festival. The event showcased numerous talented acts, while also showcasing some of Los Angeles’s largest event arenas. From back-to-back sets from big names to free ice cream pops, HARD Summer showed why it sells out every year. 

Last sunny Saturday, August 5th, festival fans gathered from all over to attend the first installment of HARD Summer in Los Angeles. Huge acts took the stage from start to finish. Upcoming star Odd Mob took control of the HARD Stage starting at 2 pm where he reminded house heads why they love him. Also, if you were close enough a glimpse of another producer, OMNOM, may have made a surprise appearance or two.

Other artists throughout the day we could not miss included Nala, Azzecca, and Hayden James. But, once the sun started setting the crowds grew at HARD Stage where Dillon Francis and the legendary back-to-back with John Summit and Kaskade would occur. Dillon Francis brought out his silly energy to the main stage from start to finish. He played tons of new music fitting directly to his moombahton style and even brought a special guest no one expected to see at Hard Summer, Oliver Tree.

Oliver Tree took over the decks and attempted to get the entire crowd to scream, “F*** Dillon Francis!”. Following Dillon, the crowd began to grow even more in anticipation of Kaskase and John Summit. The duo took the stage and controlled the crowd throughout the rest of the night. Together, they played John Summit’s Escape Remix, the latest unreleased Eli Brown track, and plenty of old and new tracks which the crowd loved. 

Moving onto Sunday, the energy from Saturday was still in the air. It seems as if more festival goers came earlier on Sunday than on Saturday since the festival grounds were packed upon opening. To kick off the day many people headed over to Emo Nite at the purple stage to check out the performance from Insomniac’s newest partnership. It’s safe to say people were sweating after their rock-fueled and energetic performance. Other artists that played throughout the afternoon included AMEME, Yung Bae, Wuki, MK b2b Sonny Fodera, Oliver Tree, Space Laces, and Disco Lines.

As the sun began to set, of course, there were plenty of DJs ready to kick off their sunset performances. Black Coffee took on the HARD stage, and many people wished they could stay listening to him until the morning. Additionally, PAWSA was playing too many unreleased tracks to count on the pink stage while Chris Lorenzo and AC Slater packed out the HARDER stage. The last sunset performance that not only drew a massive crowd but received a lot of praise was Bicep. The Irish DJ duo packed out the BMO stadium full of production, live music, and psychedelic visuals. 

While the headliners began to get ready to jump on stage, fans were stuck between a lineup of class acts. These names included Deorro, Yellow Claw b2b Flosstradamus, Kid Cudi, The Martinez Brothers, and Skrillex b2b Four Tet. While fans were rushing to see their favorite acts, HARD Summers 15th edition was slowly coming to an end.

The talk of the night was of course the act that has been headlining all year round, Skrillex b2b Four Tet. The duo jumped on stage and went in from the first song until the last. The set contained minimal visuals to give that old-school rave vibe. But, it has plenty of inflatable balls for the entire crowd to throw around. Midway through the set, Fred Again‘s.. face appeared on the screen. Certainly, a great way to pay homage to their third member that couldn’t be there with them. All in all, this was the perfect way to close out yet another great festival which is HARD Summer. 

Emilee Gabbard

My name is Emilee Gabbard. I currently live in sunny Orange County, CA. By day I am a project manager working in the aerospace industry, but by night a music blogger for yours truly, Exron Music! I have been writing for Exron Music for around eight months now and cannot wait to see what is to come throughout the years. At festivals and clubs, you will find me at any house and techno stage supporting my favorites Eli Brown or Dom Dolla, or belting every word to Porter Robinson tracks wherever he performs.

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