HARD Summer brought Dom Dolla, KAYTRANADA, Feid, Sara Landry, and more to Hollywood Park in Inglewood for its 17th edition.
The sold-out 2025 edition of HARD Summer festival has now come and gone. This year’s festival took place on August 2nd and 3rd, featuring reggaeton artist Feid, Dom Dolla, Sara Landry, Gesaffelstein, I Hate Models, Ben Sterling, Mita Gami b2b Adam Ten, and over 70 other artists. Located at Hollywood Park next to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the venue held almost 85,000 people each day.
While this had been a festival I had been wanting to attend since it started in 2008, I couldn’t help but wonder if the uniqueness of the festival is now a thing of the past. While overall I had a positive experience, I couldn’t necessarily give a single unique moment that was specific to the festival. Even the iconic trailers HARD had been known for haven’t really been a thing for the last few years, since the pandemic.
One thing is for certain: Insomniac makes logistics for its festivals easy.
Both days I arrived with little to no issues, parked in a nearby secure parking lot, and made the mile-long walk into the grounds (granted, your walk may vary depending on where you parked). Security and entrance lines were a breeze both days, and while things were crowded, no wait was particularly long.
There were plenty of free water stations (though the lines for them were very long), food vendors, and bars throughout the entire grounds. All the favorites were there from other festivals, too. I have been especially enjoying HIYO, which I have seen at other Insomniac festivals, and they were also available during this festival. Due to the size of the festival, it was very well managed as I would have expected. The Oasis tent, End Overdose, and other community booths near the HARD stage were also nice. It was cool to interact a little with the community.
Each stage had its own vibe. The HARD stage was the main stage, the Pink Stage featured house music artists like BlackChild and The Blessed Madonna, and the Purple Stage seemed to have more variety with artists like Overmono. Meanwhile, the Green Stage and the HARDER Stage featured heavier artists like Walker and Royce, Viperactive, and Crankdat.
If you wanted to see a specific genre, you could easily just find the corresponding stage and stay there all day. Hollywood Park is big, and hosting 85 thousand people each day means a lot of walking in between. Another reason to pick the stage with the most artists you like and just stay there.
My highlights on the first day were Viperactive, KAYTRANADA, and SOSA.
Each brought very different music, of course, but I have always respected each of these artists for what they do. Viperactive was everything I expected, bringing out Dillon Francis and playing a good mixture of trap and dubstep. I’m really excited to watch where he goes next. KAYTRANADA is… well… KAYTRANADA. I’ve been a fan of his style for years, and his set was exactly what I expected. SOSA brought the English tech house sound to Los Angeles, delivering a heavy set closing out the Pink Stage on the first day.
Sunday was an even more packed day.
Dom Dolla was closing out the festival, and Four Tet and Barry Can’t Swim were right before him. My standout sets included Four Tet, Mita Gami b2b Adam Ten, and Ben Sterling. Ben Sterling is on a run right now, playing in my opinion the best set of the festival. Mixing in both new IDs, classic house tunes, and closing the festival with the Black Eyed Peas. A proper house set.
My honorable mention would be Méle b2b Killaminjaro, two producers I had been following for a while. They had a crazy level of energy and were definitely encouraging one another to have fun. The second day also felt like some of the security and crowd control process was smoother; it took a lot less time to get into the festival, and of course, it was equally as easy to walk from stage to stage. Although certain stages, like the Green Stage, were certainly filled to the brim during peak sets, which made it a bit tough to get to a good spot.
Overall, my first HARD experience was great.
It felt like the perfect festival for anyone, and I think being 18+ lets people experience an official rave before being 21. Though I do wish there was a 21+ area, like a beer garden of sorts. Being in what is mostly a parking lot also means it’s quite hot on the pavement, and there was really only a breeze under the shade cover at the Pink Stage. In all honesty, I actually enjoyed the Adam Ten and Ben Sterling Afters venue, the Aurora Warehouse more, and I think it could be cool to do more with that venue.
The weather was a bit difficult to plan for, and since it’s no ins and outs, you can’t leave things behind. I’d love to see more places for community as well. Besides one location at each stage, there weren’t really areas to just hang out if you were with friends. Though I understand it’s a certain balance to provide enough seating and relaxation areas while hosting 85,000 people a day.
Additionally, while the 10pm curfew was quite disappointing, I understand and appreciated the various after-hours events they through around the city. It would have been cool to see those at a reduced cost if you’re coming from the festival. This being my second Insomniac festival in SoCal, they’re very smooth overall, but I can’t help wonder if some of the commercialness loses a bit of what raving has always been.
Check out HARD Summer if you’re under 21 and want to see some of your favorite artists; this is the perfect first festival. Since this has grown to almost be half the size of EDC now, it’ll be interesting to see if they move the venue back to NOS Events Center or find a different venue around LA. Since I currently live in the area, it was an extremely easy festival for me to get to and overall was well run. I am interested to see what’s next for HARD Summer.
