Festival chronicles: Hard Summer 2025

Journal Entry #1: August 2, 2025

The late afternoon California sun was beating down like a marching drum, and the sky was clear as crystal. There was a soft, almost whispering wind that occasionally passed through Inglewood, California, home of the Hard Summer Festival — a two-day celebration of EDM and its culture. Crowds of partially naked attendees, wearing their most colourful and outrageous attire, flooded the sidewalks and grounds of Hollywood Park, excitedly migrating towards the direction of the mash-up of music that could be heard a mile away. Endless lines of vehicles, bound for the festival parking lot, held traffic at a standstill along Century Boulevard, Prairie Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. 

As I slowly — following the mass number of people travelling in the same direction at the same time —navigated my way towards the festival entrance, the air smelled of sweat, weed, tobacco, grilled onions, Polish sausages, and an array of flowery body sprays. Street vendors selling everything from aeroplane minis of liquor to hot dogs to bootleg festival shirts lined the sidewalks, yelling their sales pitches as if they were art auctioneers. 

The main and VIP entrances of the festival were so thronged with attendees that the organisers were forced to open a makeshift second entrance, which was also overloaded with people clamouring to get inside. After three checks — ID, wristband, and security — I was inside the festival gates and made my way to the Hard Stage, where Busta Rhymes — one of only two hip-hop artists in the lineup — was set to perform. 

As a fan of Busta Rhymes since his 1996 debut solo album, I’ve always made a conscious effort to see him perform live as often as possible. Besides, he is one of the main reasons that I wanted to cover this festival. Busta Rhymes, as with many hip-hop artists of his era, always gives fans more than their money’s worth during live shows. Many of those awaiting Busta to grace the stage didn’t look like they were old enough to even know about his music, but I know better than to judge by appearance. Busta Rhymes and his right-hand man, Spliff Star, took us on a chronological trip down hip-hop memory lane, starting with “Woo-Hah! Got You All In Check” and “Ante Up.” For me, the festival attendees were not hype enough for the MC, and he obviously read my mind because he expressed this same sentiment in between songs. 

Busta Rhymes’ set also included the likes of “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See,” “Break Ya Neck,” “Make It Clap,” “Touch It,” and several of his features, including “Don’t Cha,” “Look At Me Now,” and “Scenario.”

Despite a set that was plagued with ongoing technical issues — and delays due to the said technical issues — the MC did not let that deter him from delivering a memorable performance, although he did vocally reprimand the production teams responsible. “Busta Rhymes has always done everything in excellence. He might have some openings on his production team after this,” was what I thought to myself after he stopped the show for what was the umpteenth time due to yet another tech issue — his frustration reaching a boiling point. With a promise to return to L.A. to make up for the show he felt his fans were cheated out of, Busta Rhymes finished his set with “Pass the Courvoisier”.

After Busta Rhymes’ set, I had a moment to take in my surroundings. I was one of a handful of folks fully dressed. After a decade of covering multi-day music festivals in various climates, I opt for comfort and convenience when it comes to my festival fashion. The average age range of festival goers was somewhere between the ages of 18 and mid-to-late 20s. 

The VIP sections adjacent to each stage were a world of their own. A knee-deep wading pool was nestled between the Hard Stage and Pink Stage, complete with a swim-up bar, loungers underneath a pergola, pool floats, and lifeguards. Lining either side of the walkway were local food vendors, bars, and interactive brand activations. A colourful, shaded seated area – intended to mimic an al fresco hall —  with artificial turf, high-boy chairs and tables, and free WiFi added additional flair. Each VIP area had what would be considered “premium access” to the stages — a better view, with fewer people. 

As I made my way over to the Pink Stage, about 50 feet away from the Hard Stage, the folding fans and parasols were pumping in the air as a result of the deep base and the mixing of old and new from The Blessed Madonna. Leaving the VIP area to traipse to one of the other festival stages was like merging on the 405 expressway at 5 PM on a Friday: infinite amounts of slow or deadlocked traffic — in this case, foot traffic. As I manoeuvred through the crowd, I realised how courteous and polite people were: saying “Excuse me” or apologising for bumping into others…this is definitely not the norm for most festivals. 

I was enamoured with people’s sign-making creativity. Meant for group members to find and keep track of one another, the myriad of signs ranged from artistic to comedic to vulgar. They included pop culture references, toys, holiday lights, selfies, pool noodles, cardboard cutouts, hand drawings, paintings, you name it. I was intrigued, curious, and humoured. 

Dead smack in the middle of the festival was the smaller, Beatbox stage with DJ Kitty Mama and her entourage, made up of women dressed in cheerleading outfits inspired by the movie, Bring it On, at the top of the stage, looking down on us “commoners”. The stage itself was designed to resemble a boombox, with the area surrounding the stage created to resemble a beach in the tropics— complete with sand, canopies, and a coconut drink stand. With the energetic beats that Kitty Mama was spinning coupled with the setup, I couldn’t help but almost feel like I was at the beach, despite the droves of people walking past Sofi Stadium only fifteen feet away from me. 

At sunset, the temperature dropped drastically. The thing about the California sun is that it makes the weather feel warmer than it really is, without humidity. And when the sun fades, that dry, California heat turns into a dry, California cold front. Even my denim Led Zeppelin jacket couldn’t keep the cold, night air from cutting through and giving me goosebumps and shivers. Thankfully, the press tent provided some warm relief, rest and snacks before I headed back to the Hard Stage to watch Toronto’s native son, Kaytranada, put on a 75-minute performance.

The thing I love about Kaytranada is the versatility of his sound, and his collaborations are complementary to that sound. Nobody stood still during Kaytranada’s — it’s impossible not to let his music consume your ears and pulsate through your body. The production value, from the visuals to the turntable cameras, added a je ne sais pas that only Kaytrananda can achieve with his audience. Kaytranda played deep cuts as well as some of his more notable songs, including “Be Your Girl,” “10%” “Intimidated,” and “Vex Oh,” all while letting the music dictate his dance moves and verbal interaction with the crowd. 

While Kaytranada very well was the headliner in my eyes, according to the festival lineup, reggaeton artist Feid, was the Hard Stage headliner for Day 1. As I began making my way to the festival exit, my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to take a moment to give Feid a chance to “wow” me. His visuals were that of a PC desktop, and I am talking old school, DOS disc-startup PC. The classic Snake Game was being shown on the side screens, and in the middle screens were simulated chat rooms (again, old school). With each new level of the Snake Game being unlocked, Feid would transition into another song. Joined on stage by a guitarist and his DJ, I couldn’t tell if the guitarist was actually playing and was disappointed that Feid lip-synced much of the lyrics to his songs — or didn’t sing at all. Even still, the crowd loved it, and it was refreshing to see other non-techno artists getting some love at Hard Summer. 

Over at the Harder Stage, Gordo was the penultimate performer before headliner Sara Landry closed out night 1. I don’t deny the talent and creativity that it takes to be a DJ and producer, however, hardstyle EDM isn’t for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love techno music, but their subgenre speciality was — and always has been — overwhelming. Maybe if I was on something, it would’ve been a vibe, but I’m a teetotaler and their sets exhausted me more than I already was. I did give them a chance and accepted that everything isn’t for everybody, and that is okay. 

Journal Entry #2: August 3, 2025

Day 2 of Hard Summer was hotter, louder, more crowded, and sweatier than the day before, and the outfits were bolder and brighter. I learned the hard way, on Day 1, to eat before I arrived because the food was overpriced and less than mediocre. I also avoided the entry chaos of the day before by finally locating the VIP entrance: I was through the festival gates in less than a minute. Despite my usual option to dress for comfort and convenience, the heat had me sweating like I had just finished an outdoor HIIT workout. There were brief and infrequent breezes that provided temporary relief, yet I appreciated the heat because I knew once the sun went to sleep, it would be another night of goosebumps and chills that resulted from the cooler weather. 

Because it was warmer, there were even fewer clothes being worn by attendees than yesterday. The thick smell of marijuana and flavoured vapes enveloped the air of the festival grounds, hovering like a cloud. Long lines for food, beverages, and restrooms had become the norm at this point. Walking past the Harder Stage, where I would spend a good portion of my day, I noticed a Ferris wheel to my left and an ice cream truck that had been turned into a mini stage to my right. What DJ was spinning on it was beyond me, but they amassed a small crowd of tech feigns dancing the afternoon away. 

As Barry Can’t Swim took to the Hard stage, the SoCal sun began its final Hard Summer descent. The Edinburgh native is known for blending genres and this was on full display as he created a controlled chaos sound that paired well with his cartoon-like visuals. A sea of bodies jumped, shook and danced along to his palpitating beats for what was a high-spirited and just plain entertaining time.

As I once again observed my surroundings, I internally gave kudos to the folks who attended the festival in next-to-nothing; the confidence and body positivity were impressive. Of all the festivals I have covered, Hard Summer might hold the record for most exposed butt cheeks, Speedos, pasties, cleavage, glitter, boots with the fur, shirtless guys, etc., than any other festival that I’ve covered. Welcome to EDM festivals in Los Angeles. 

I know, I know, yesterday, I wrote about how hardstyle EDM is not my thing, but Ki/Ki and DJ Gigola did a joint, back-to-back set, and it was interesting to experience. These two ladies played hard-hitting beats, engaged with the crowd, took shots, and looked like they were having the time of their lives onstage. During their nearly 90-minute set, they went back and forth playing some of their most popular songs, with the audience as their visual backdrop using an assortment of camera filters — including neon outlines, split screen, and distortion. I was thoroughly impressed with how many female artists were in the Hard Summer lineup; kudos to the talent! 

Finally, the moment I had been waiting for all weekend. I was tired, my body was aching, and I was cold, but I had come for Juve The Great! His set was to begin at 8 PM, and because I did not want to miss any of it, I made my way from the Press Tent to the Harder Stage at 7:35 PM. Arriving in the VIP area of the Harder Stage, I tried to get closer to the stage than I usually do, solely for warmth because I was cold.

I recalled the last time that I had seen Juvenile perform live; it was a live music venue that I worked at in Chicago. It was a great show, but he didn’t have his band; and tonight, Juvenile brought members of The 400 Degreez Band with him, so this was sure to be a treat. 

I glanced at my watch — 8:02 PM — as the VIP area began to fill up, I found myself retreating further away from the stage due to the growing crowd, and the smells of weed, must and sweat. Eventually, I settled into a spot in which I was double arm’s distance away from people in every direction. Win! As I saw Juvenile and his band enta da stage (if you don’t get this reference, you are too young to read this journal entry), I could feel the excitement growing in me. In his signature look – white tee, Dickie pants and a tee-shirt tied around his head – Juvenile and Co. kicked things off with “Ha” and “400 Degreez.” 

As I looked around, most of the audience looked as if they weren’t even born when 400 Degreez and The G-Code were released. It was also evident that my sentiments were correct, because many of them were like deer in headlights (maybe they were drunk, or high, or both…I don’t know) as Juve gave us the likes of “‘Nolia Clap,” “I Need a Hot Girl,” and “We On Fire.” The true, OG Juve fans knew what was up, because we were the only ones that held it down for “‘Nolia Clap.” Juvenile’s energy was infectious — I’m typically relatively reserved at concerts, even for my favourites, but even I found myself dancing and rapping along. I ain’t from the projects, but “Project Bitch” — which Juve concluded with a freestyle — and “in My Life” gave me my second wind. 

I love when my favourite hip-hop artists are accompanied by a live band because it makes their already incredible music larger than life and truly highlights their talent. With Juvenile were his DJ, his bass player, his guitar player and “The Greatest Drummer in the World” (Juve’s words). If you watched his 2023 Tiny Desk performance, you would see these same musicians performing their hearts out with him. 

By the time Juvenile performed “Slow Motion,” I didn’t care about the cold or the pain I was feeling it. I was having a good ass time and enjoying the musical sounds of Juvenile and the 400 Degreez Band. “Slow Motion” was familiar to the majority of the audience as they belted out the chorus at the top of their lungs; this, too, also ended with him freestyling. He then played his new song, “Hotboy Summer,” before giving us more Juve-Cash Money classics. 

It was obvious that the finale would be “The greatest love song of all time”; that’s right, “Back That Azz Up,” performed in its entirety. We got pyro, we got smoke, we got a light show, and more importantly, Juvenile gave it his all; he looked like he was having a ball on the Hard Summer Stage — I know we, in the audience, were. The energy when the strings hit was insane and people lost their minds when the beat dropped. I was enjoying his set so much that I didn’t even pull my phone out — I just wanted to be in the moment and take it all in; although, I admittedly captured about 1 minute of the finale because I wanted to hold onto that moment forever; the energy was too live not to. For me, Juvenile was my Sunday night headliner; he was the other reason I came to Hard Summer.

As I exited the festival grounds, I felt a slight sadness come over me. I always get this feeling at the end of a festival assignment. It’s almost as if I left a part of me on the festival grounds — or, maybe it’s not that deep and just a sign that I had a great time. One of the best things about being a music writer is that it is truly a lot of fun — the memories created, the experiences and the people I get to meet and cover along the way. 

Until next time.