This weekend marked HARD Summer’s debut at the new Hollywood Park Grounds venue, and it was an awesome. Insomniac nailed it, offering strong crowd dispersion throughout the festival, in addition to shade and water-mist areas at each stage. They covered all their bases, from water refill stations and available washrooms, to killer afterparty options to make up for Inglewood’s early festival closing times.
Photographer: Matt Winkelmeyer
Despite the festival concluding at 11 PM on Saturday and 10 PM on Sunday, heavy news speculation has followed regarding the high number of noise complaints Los Angeles officials received. This leaves the future of festivals at this venue and HARD Summer’s potential 2025 return uncertain.
The August weekend was hot and sunny—perfect festival weather. Hosting five stages: Hard, Harder, Pink, Green, and Purple, the expansive park grounds were a great fit for the event. While some attendees mentioned the stages were too far apart, I found the setup ideal. There was no sound pollution between stages, and the crowds were surprisingly well dispersed for most of the weekend.
HARD Summer 2024 delivered a stellar lineup with outstanding performances. A personal favorite of Stage Hoppers was Levity, who electrified the crowd with a high-energy, flawless set. The Harder stage was home to one of the best crowds of the festival, shoutout to the bass fans. We also loved Subtronics, who never disappoints. His set was fresh and high-energy, featuring an unreleased track with Hedex.
Photographer: Alex Perez
Rezz and Deadmau5 closed out the Harder stage on the first day with one of the best sets I have ever seen. The combination of their production with the crowd and HARDER Stage set-up was insane. They wowed fans with classics such as “Life & Death,” “4+4,” “Chemical Bond,” “Ghosts ’n’ Stuff” (Jauz Remix), and even a recent unfinished track made 3 days prior to the show.
The festival featured fantastic merchandise, a Cuervo lounge activation for those 21+, food and drink vendors around the park, a ferris wheel, and even a pool in the VIP area—which I had never seen before nor needed to lol.
Despite the large grounds and spread-out stages, HARD Summer was definitely still stage-hoppable. Although myself and countless others found ourselves literally running between stages at times, being able to see so many great artists made the experience worthwhile and highlighted the high-value of this festival. I would love to see HARD return to Hollywood Park Grounds next year if permitted, as it felt like HSMF had finally found its rightful home. However, if a new venue is on the horizon, it might be a cool change. Either way, I trust Insomniac and HARD to deliver another unforgettable festival experience.
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