Featured Photo: Gina Joy for Insomniac Events
Insomniac’s HARD Summer is bringing the heat in its new home, the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA Saturday, July 31 and Sunday, August 1. Fans may welcome the familiarity of the new venue, serving as a home base to many of Insomniac’s most well-loved festivals. With promises of shaded stages and cooling areas, HARD Summer is making sure attendees will be partying soundly but safely. The lineup is one for the ages, a solid combination of electronic music’s hottest, most sought after acts and legendary, tough to catch underground artists.
Saturday Highlights
From the big font top line down to the final additions at the bottom, HARD Summer masterfully spreads the talent across 2 days and Saturday makes its best attempt to ease you into the madness. Good wholesome fun will be had at sets from Phantoms, Sage Armstrong and Mr. Carmack, incredible bookings for a day under the waning sun. But it wouldn’t be HARD Summer without getting a little weird and that’s where talent like Bleep Bloop, CHARLESTHEFIRST and Rezz come in. The rest of the day into night is absolutely stacked with house, tech house and everything in between. Hip hop heads and just overall connoisseurs of great music will absolutely be at Kaytranada’s sure to be otherworldly set and then can also get their itch scratched by headliners Future (you KNOW Mask Off is going to hit different) and Don Toliver of Cactus Jack Records fame.
Sunday Highlights
Day 2 makes the assumption that now you’re primed and ready for the final day of debauchery. Heavy hitters like Kayzo, Joyryde, Riot Ten and Hekler will no doubt punish crowds in the best way possible. Get to the rail to see if 2 Chainz is rocking some of his most expensivest jewelry as he runs through his catalog and Dillon Francis will be serving up moombah and more on a main stage. Repopulate Mars creator Lee Foss provides an otherworldly escape from the bass, if you so desire, and Cassian will surely take the crowd to his little piece of house heaven. Perhaps the most attention-getting booking for day 2 is dubstep legend Skream and attendees should truly make every effort to bear witness to this incredibly rare treat. In the game for over 15 years, Skream is a pioneer of the industry and comes to HARD Summer with an eclectic assortment of absolutely legendary tracks and remixes that will most likely obliterate whatever tent this set takes place under. Don’t miss this borderline once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a legend at work.
Double the Fun
A sentiment that was echoed over and over again as fans reviewed the lineup was the incredible pairings for the handful of B2B’s listed. DJ Snake and Malaa team up once again to blow attendees minds and fan favorites Valentino Khan and 4B join forces to become Hulk Gang, a set that will absolutely dare you to stand still. Even more intriguing is the debut of girl gang DJ duo Bad Boys Club consisting of Cray and GG Magree. The pair has yet to reveal what their sound may consist of, all the more reason to put that set on your must-see list. Nitti Gritti B2B Wuki will no doubt be one of the more fun sets of the weekend, here’s hoping Wuki blesses us with some of his always entertaining “beats I can’t release”. Finally, what more can be said about the iconic matchups of RL Grime B2B Baauer and G Jones B2B EPROM. All 4 absolute masters of their craft, these sets will surely be prime time on the main stages complete with the nastiest of bass and mind-bending visuals.
Now that we’ve gotten you amped for the event it seems cruel to inform you the event is officially sold out BUT the good news is there is a waitlist for those who didn’t pull the trigger soon enough. Join it here today and we’ll see you at the NOS Events Center at the end of the month!