BEST: Best vibes in HARD Summer history?
I’ve attended my fair share of HARD Summer festivals over the years and this was the first time I really didn’t have any complaints about the people in the crowd. People were nice as they moved up into the crowd and I didn’t get shoved or bumped into without a sincere apology. Maybe I chose to be more middle or back of the crowd than normal but I felt like people were respectful more than usual and also less inebriated than normal. I don’t know if it had to do with the change in location or not but this year’s crowd was better than before.
BEST: Rezzmau5 shows the best of HARD Summer is in its dope collabs
One of the things that has separated HARD Summer from other festivals over the years is they tend to have some unique back-to-back type sets that you don’t get to see at other festivals. Though there were quite a few of these, my favorite and many’s favorite of the weekend was the Rezz and deadmau5 collab Rezzmau5. Though they’ve released some music under this moniker before, they haven’t performed much together in the past. This was a dope performance Saturday night as it was a true 50-50 effort with awesome visuals. Their two styles just mesh really well together and I’d love to see a full tour from them.
BEST: VIP definitely worth it
I go to a lot of festivals and you wind up hit-or-miss on the VIP perks. I felt like VIP was worth it for HARD Summer 2024, mostly for the private walkways between the Green and HARDER stages. It was super easy to move between sets there and allowed you to split the difference when you had a conflict. You also were able to get somewhat towards the middle of the stage in VIP where at other festivals you’re nowhere near the stage being in front of you. There was never a line to use the bathroom or get water or drinks when the GA was super packed. Would highly recommend getting VIP for HARD Summer if it’s at this same venue.
WORST: Sound of HARD hits nearby homes a little harder
HARD Summer 2024 was the first time the festival took place at the SoFi Stadium adjacent Hollywood Park, and it was great for festival attendees. It was pretty easy to get in and out of compared to other HARD Summer festivals of yesteryear. But according to an LA Times report, nearby houses were not happy. Residents as far as Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach also had complaints. HARD Summer organizers told KABC-TV in a statement, “While we always operate within legally acceptable decibel levels, we have sound monitors deployed in the field to monitor and respond to all noise complaints.” If the festival returns to Hollywood Park, they might have to address the sound.
BEST: Perfect weather
If you’ve been to HARD Summer in the past, you’ve likely sweat your nuts off. Especially when it was in San Bernardino, people dropped like flies from drinking too much and getting dehydrated from the beaming sun. The location of Hard Summer 2024 gave it much cooler weather and I didn’t see anyone pass out from heat this year. There was good sun during the day but cool weather when the sun went down. There was plenty of shade to be found if you did get a little hot. Overall, it was the most perfect weather I can remember HARD Summer ever having.
BEST: Nelly Furtado a left-field booking that pays off big
One thing I love about HARD Summer is they often have at least one really surprising booking that doesn’t fit the EDM label and this year it was queen Nelly Furtado. She has so many fucking bangers and Saturday night she did not disappoint as she ran through them all. She played “Say It Right” and “Promiscuous” and closed with a banger “Say It Right” remix. Would love to see more and more of these bookings in the future. She also looked phenomenal.
BEST: Jamie XX brings big festival magic
Jamie XX had a slew of small venue shows in LA around HARD Summer 2024 but that didn’t keep him from going harder at the festival this year. It was a perfect sunset set on Saturday and really set the tone for the rest of the weekend. He has a new album coming out and you can tell he’s really enthusiastic about having new music to play. There’s a reason he’s one of my favorite electronic live shows and this set was one of them.
WORST: Lack of production (probably because of airport)
The one major drawback to the location of the festival is it probably was the reason why you couldn’t have lasers at HARD Summer 2024. The airport being so close, it was noticeable to not have that production that you are so used to having at an electronic music festival. That is something that has always taken things up a couple notches and I did hear people say they missed that. There’s always going to be pluses and minuses to each venue and this was one of the few minuses.
