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. 

The post Festival chronicles: Hard Summer 2025 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Headlining this year are international, award-winning artists: Canadian producer, DJ and songwriter, Kaytranada, Colombian, rapper and producer, Feid, French-born producer and songwriter, Gesaffelstein, and Australian house music producer, Dom Dolla. In a deviation from its standard all-EDM focus, festival organisers are providing 90s and early 2000s nostalgia for millennials and Gen Xers with the addition of Juvenile, Busta Rhymes, and Sean Paul. 

While many EDM festivals do the bare minimum in terms of booking female talent, Hard Summer recognises the impactful contributions that women have made to the EDM scene and culture. With an abundant lineup of 14 female artists – both well-known and up-and-coming – festival goers will be able to experience VNSSA, Sara Landry, Annicka, and an onstage collaboration between Ki/Ki and DJ Gigola. Additional female DJs and producers taking over the Hard Summer stages include Dara Genesis, Fun2BeJane, The Blessed Madonna, and Aimmia – allowing attendees to expand their musical palettes.

With this impressive lineup and ideal location – Hollywood Park – Hard Summer is sure to be the most sought-after event of the weekend. 

Learn more and purchase passes at hardsummer.com.

Cover photo: Keytranada at LIB 2022 by Nathaniel Windisch

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Those keen will understand that Memorial Coliseum is a familiar place. Skyline Festival earlier this year in February was a welcome introduction to what would eventually unfold in the summertime. Hard isn’t dedicated to only house music, however, although a Kaskade / John Summit headline is nothing to scoff at. Skyline was only half the battle, literally: Hard Summer opened up 3 whole new stages. Two of those new venues were actual, literal arenas. This is the rave DLC that Goldenvoice just can’t give you.

Isoxo was a huge highlight for me. Watching him glow up from a timid DJ that G Jones brings out sometimes to a full-fledged performer, conducting huge crowds and flying around the stage like a maniac almost brought a tear to my dehydrated eye. Like, come on, Isoxo walked on stage to a guitar solo – if that man’s ego is competing against blimps at this point. I’ll allow it though Isoxo’s beats are disgusting. Truly just unsanitary. From the two paths that glitch bass DJs tend to go down, he specialized in chaos. For the rest of this year and most of next, you might hear his name a few times. 

Oliver Tree made an appearance during Dillon Francis’ set in the face of an audience that was somewhat confused. If you thought his haircut could get worse then you are correct. The Sunday set was more passionate, but I won’t be complaining about his surprise appearance on Saturday.. He’s not exactly known for bangers but Tree is loud enough to get things going. He also took a shot at DJing and resorted to blasting “Sandstorm” for the community, so I think someone somewhere has a completed bingo card to turn in. Dillon Francis knows the shtick though, no one else is able to play “Fireflies” by Owl City on a Saturday night without confidence. Frankly, I’m glad he did. 

Saturday as a whole was overwhelming. The aforementioned Kaskade and John Summit B2B was furious and enticing. The Hard stage was engulfed in 120 BPM bombs that scattered lasers and fire in most, if not every, direction. Kaskade is right off the heels with the Deadmau5 collab, Kx5, so to switch gears so quickly confirms his versatility. A relentless, 20-year career has the man built differently. In contrast, John Summit is a straight shooter. What you see is what you get, and at the risk of sniping at one of the fastest-rising DJs of the 20s: I don’t think an AI generator could coalesce a more perfect fratty house DJ. You already know he played “Where You Are” with Hayla, you already know he slayed EDC earlier this year, and you already know what’s going down in the future. 

DJ Diesel, who’s likely more famous as a musician now than an ex-pro basketball player, was remorseless. There’s no reason for him to go this hard,  yet he refuses to stop. What I really appreciated was the San Holo outro. Light is a truly timeless song, a feat that’s quite difficult to accomplish in electronic music. For Shaq to have made room for an evocative track like that, it’s really cool to see in a set otherwise filled to the brim with heavy artillery. The chemistry between the two artists was effervescent, and it was obvious that they were genuinely enjoying the moment. 

Skrillex and Four Tet is what folks were banking on. I’ve never seen so many inflatables in a crowd before. It was electric, especially for the last set on the last day. At a certain point, they let basically the entire population onto the stage, to the point where our photographer Nate was on the widescreens for more than the headliners. I’m pretty sure they played a Nine Inch Nails remix? Paired with the hits: “Country Riddim” at full force, “Quest for Fire” bumps, and a Ratata remix. The crowd wasn’t prepped for that last one and it hit on a different wavelength.

There were a few things that took me out of the experience. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled with previous festivals this year, but $80 for parking is blatant thievery. This is the most expensive festival on the circuit, which is saying a lot. Not even Gorillaz at SoFi had that level of opportunism – I’m almost certain Taylor Swift’s run is the same. Also, whoever did what they did at the VIP bathrooms at Hard Stage – we’re not going to talk about that. But it didn’t need to happen. Hard Summer didn’t have the extra love other Insomniac events seem to have. My last gripe as the resident curmudgeon: we saw first-hand a firework miss the sky and mortar into the ground which could have seriously hurt someone. No one was, thankfully, but it made me appreciate previous festivals like Countdown where I didn’t fear randomly exploding.

Beyond the headline events, the festival grounds were a haven of creativity and self-expression. Attendees flaunted unique rave kits, fashion statements, and vibrant hair colors, in turn, Hard Summer became a canvas of individuality. Vendors offered a solid array of culinary options and ensured that enthusiasts could refuel between dance sessions. Hard events are a staple of the culture and to experience the best of what’s around is an opportunity worth taking. It’s the best aspects of Rolling Loud (Ludacris, Kid Cudi) and Portola (Skrill-Tet, Sullivan King) fused into a memorable LA venue with the best traversal and infrastructure a festival reviewer could ask for. 

Be sure to check out their wild merch line and keep up with forecasts of future Insomniac events here.

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