Hard Summer, the highly anticipated music festival that happens every summer, attracts music lovers across multiple genres, including house, techno, dubstep, along with a few subgenres sprinkled in as well. It is hosted by Insomniac, who is one of the leading EDM music promoters in the industry. Insomniac hosts many of the EDM music festivals throughout the year, including EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival), in Las Vegas. Since its inaugural year in 2007 Hard Summer has been evolving and growing year after year.

Founded by Pasquale Routella in 1993, inspired by the Los Angeles underground music scene, Insomniac has grown to be one of the largest dance music companies. He started Insomniac as a way to bring people together through music and art.

Hard Summer 2024 brought some of the most popular artists within the dance music scene including Zeds Dead, Fisher, REZZMAU5, and Subtronics. As well as some up and coming artists such as Lake Hills and Infekt. Both artists have curated their own unique sound, but in totally different ways. Lake Hills has a nostalgic, dreamy sound rooted in techno and experimental sounds. Along with his music, Lake Hills has developed visuals to support his unique sound. Infekt has built a name for himself in his own right, creating grimy riddim (sub genre of dubstep). Infekt mixes and chops his tracks, and creates a flow within the chaos of riddim. REZZMAU5 is the collision of two forces including REZZ and DEADMAU5, both of which have successful solo careers in their own right, but together they have created a truly one of a kind sound.

Taking place at Hollywood Park near Sofi Stadium, the festival was well organized and managed the large crowds surprisingly well. Even the parking situation was not too much of a struggle, surely the closer you park to the festival the more expensive it becomes, but nearby parking garages did not price gouge, like one would have thought. With 5 stages and tons of food trucks, there was something for everyone. The different stages seemed to offer different genres and that was a convenient way for attendees to be able to stay at a given stage if they wanted to hear more of that specific genre. For example, at the green stage you had primarily dubstep, while at the HARD stage you had tech house. It was a great way to manage the crowds, it allowed attendees to not be required to constantly walk to different stages, unless they wanted to enjoy a different genre or artist.

From the moment you enter the festival you can hear distant basslines and now you have to decide which artist you’d like to see first. As you get closer to the stage you see fellow attendees dancing freely with the beat and you can’t help, but to move with the music too. You could feel the music vibrate through your entire body. Although this was not an intimate club setting, the booming sound system echoed throughout and the sets did not lose any of the layers that the artists mixed. As the day went on, the crowds that gathered at each stage grew larger, creating a sea of people all gathered to enjoy a specific artist.

Along with the many multinational artists, there were also a handful of local artists performing at Hard Summer, including Lake Hills. Lake Hills has played many shows in Riverside for Split Checks, which is a community of artists curating a following within Riverside and Los Angeles. These shows are aimed at people who love a more intimate club environment, giving you no choice, but to enjoy the music with no distractions. The community that Split Checks has curated is what keeps electronic music alive. There is a beauty in large scale festivals with the fact that they bring thousands of people together in one place to enjoy music and art, but the more intimate shows are what breathes life into this scene.

Music that began in small clubs and underground shows, has now grown to such a large scale. It was amazing seeing everyone gathered around a stage to listen to their favorite artist. For many artists at Hard Summer this is a milestone of their career, and to have this many people in one place listening to the sounds that you produce and mix must be an incredible feeling. Hard Summer is a festival that brings people together through music, clothing, and dance. This is what feeds the soul, everyone needs an outlet of some kind to feel alive, and that is why Hard Summer has been taking place year after year.