HARD Summer Returns to the City of Angels for High-Flying Festival in Downtown L.A.

August 9, 2023

in Music

Reading Time: 3 mins read

HARD Summer stayed true to its name over the weekend, descending on the City of Angels for a momentous return to L.A. after 10 years.

Prior to its start, the festival’s new location had been a hot topic of conversation within the music community. After a decade in San Bernardino, this year’s HARD Summer utilized a brand-new combination of venues with five stages spread out across the campuses of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and BMO Stadium.

Despite the expected logistical headaches, you can always count on HARD to showcase the best and brightest in stateside electronic music. And they did just that on Day 1 as we walked into a ferocious DJ set from EDM.com Class of 2022 star ISOxo. From there, the energy skyrocketed.

What would a music festival be these days without Shaq? DJ Diesel stomped in and tore up the Green Stage, quaking Downtown L.A. with his no-holds-barred brand of dubstep and riddim.

Diesel also showcased a handful of tracks from his upcoming debut album, GORILLA WARFARE, before it destroys the festival circuit like the backboards he used to shatter in his NBA days.

Gina Joy

HARD’s first day came to a close with one of its most anticipated sets, a b2b from Kaskade and John Summit. Despite a gap in age of over two decades, they beautifully bridged the gap of house music’s past and future.

John Summit and Kaskade performing at HARD Summer 2023.

Jamal Eid

While HARD Summer’s return was triumphant in many aspects, there were a few minor hiccups. Many attendees bemoaned the event’s logistical challenges and said its sheer size occasionally led to longer-than-anticipated wait times to enter each stage. However, these minor quibbles did little to dampen the overall spirit of the festival.

Day 2 brought sweltering heat both in the air on the stage. One of the afternoon’s highlights was a spellbinding performance from Giolì & Assia, a rising superstar tandem in the world of electronic music. The EDM.com Class of 2021 duo stunned with their signature sound, a hypnotic blend of house and ambient music.

Giolì & Assia performing at HARD Summer 2023.

Shea Flynn

At nightfall, Flosstradamus and Yellow Claw pulled up for a gigantic headlining b2b set. The influential producers ripped up the Green Stage and dropped a slew of their biggest trap anthems, like the ageless “Prison Riot.”

Yellow Claw and Flosstradamus performing at HARD Summer 2023.

Jake West

Meanwhile, hip-hop icon Kid Cudi was a breath of fresh air on the Purple Stage, where he cycled through his deep catalog of generational hits, including “Day ‘n’ Nite.”

Cudi also played out new music from his upcoming ninth studio album, INSANO. An unquestioned highlight came when he performed a hotly anticipated unreleased track, tentatively called “Wild.”

Kid Cudi performing at HARD Summer 2023.

Shea Flynn

HARD Summer 2023 came to a close with the weekend’s biggest performance, a b2b from Skrillex and Four Tet. They brought it all home with a typically show-stopping DJ set, playing banger after banger before a rollicking crowd. Dubstep, house, moombah, Taylor Swift, you name it—we heard it all.