The Revival of HSMF
I attended Hard Summer for the 3rd time this weekend and I admit, it was full of nostalgia -- I felt 5 years younger the entire time, soaking in my 18-year-old self. My past 2 hard experiences have been subpar and full of unnecessary drama. The lineup for Hard Summer’s 10th anniversary was fairly stacked this year, and since my friend bought tickets and booked a hotel already, I figured, why not?
This weekend blew me away for several reasons. For one, you could tell more money went to production: 2 water stations next to every stage, workers walking around offering ice cold beverages, beautifully set up stages, food trucks with delicious food, and an easy-to-navigate venue dotted the festival grounds. What really solidified this year was the drama-free, head-banging vibes and, of course, quality sets. I was able to see more artists this year than ever before, because I was with someone who actually was down to see catch all the artists and shove some sweaty people on the way to each stage. CRAY, Oski, NuKid, josh pan, SAYMYNAME, Kayzo, Malaa, Cashmere Cat, Tchami, Justice, Zeds Dead, Snoop Dogg, Dog Blood, Bassnectar, Migos, Jai Wolf, Snakehips, What So Not, Kill the Noise, Mike Will Made It, 12th Planet, Ekali, Whethan, and Graves blessed my ears and had me groovin’ the entire weekend (not listed in any particular order). Almost every set we saw was well produced -- it kept me wanting to dance in the San Bernardino heat.
Highlight of the night was Dog Blood’s last live performance. I was a little skeptical since I knew Dog Blood (Skrillex and Boys Noize’s collab project) failed a couple years ago. Their simple stage design and 1000+ audience proved me wrong. Bathed in red strobe lights, smoke, lasers, and the occasional flash of their logo, the visuals were simple yet worked perfectly. The bass kept me going the entire hour, along with the fact that it just so happened to be a full moon -- Skrillex made sure to hype up the crowd with, “this is a full moon party!”
2nd place goes to Graves' set. He played a bangin mix of trap, and even brought out bbno$ and yung gravy. I’ve been keeping tabs on this up-and-coming Canadian mumble rapper, so I lowkey freaked when he came onstage.
In the end, I finally had the Hard Summer experience I’ve been wanting for the past 2 years. Maybe it’s a good thing Destructo is leaving, because they definitely improved for their 10th anniversary. I’d give Hard a chewiness of 7/10.
Because I miss this weekend, I made this playlist (even tho SoundCloud might die soon...)
https://soundcloud.com/hannah-lee-44/sets/more-bass-pl0x
Stay sound,
Han
