| Music Festival Name: | HARD FEST |
| Location: | United States |
| Years Active: | 2007 -[1] |
| Genre: | Electronic, techno, alternative dance, electronic dance music, hip hop, dance-punk, dubstep, house |
Hard is an American music festival, music cruise and concert brand founded in 2007. The event line-ups consist of alternative and electronic acts and emerging talents. The first Hard Music Festival was held on December 31, 2007 in Downtown Los Angeles and featured Justice, Peaches and 2 Live Crew. Hard is best known for the Hard Summer Music Festival and Hard Haunted Mansion, though also runs several smaller events and one-off shows. Hard is sometimes called "Hardfest" by fans, based on the event's website and social media shortcuts. Additional Hard brands include the Hard Summer, Hard Red Rocks, Hard at Electric Daisy Carnival, and the Holy Ship! electronic music cruise, and former events include Hard Day of The Dead, Hard 13, Turkey Soup and Hard Miami. Live Nation Entertainment acquired Hard in 2012. In 2013, Live Nation handed control over to Insomniac Events in their merger.
Since 2008, Hard has run an annual Hard Summer Music Festival. The first was held on July 19, 2008 in Downtown Los Angeles at the Shrine Exposition Hall. In 2009, Hard Summer changed venues to The Forum. The Inglewood police department and fire marshals were forced to shut the event because it was declared a "hazard" by the fire department. In 2010, the venue changes to again to the Los Angeles State Historic Park, where it continued to be held until 2014, when it moved to the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in El Monte, California. In 2015 Hard Summer once again switched venues to the Fairplex in Pomona, California.
In 2016, Hard Summer moved to the Fontana Auto Club Speedway and hosted around 146,000 people.[2] For its 10th anniversary in 2017, the festival was set to return to the Auto Club Speedway; however, after a notable decline in ticket sales, LiveNation moved the event to Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California. About 80,000 people attended the two day weekend. Hard Summer 2018 returned to the Auto Club Speedway in August 2018, where it remained in 2019.
In 2020, Hard Summer was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival resumed in 2021, and moved location to the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino, where it remained in 2022. In 2023, Insomniac stated that the event would be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park, and BMO Stadium, making it the first time since 2010 that a major Insomniac event was hosted in Los Angeles. In 2024, the location was changed to SoFi Stadium.
In March 2013, Hard Events announced that it would be hosting a new event in Colorado called Hard Red Rocks at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The event took place on August first of that year, and has returned to that event annually. Hard Red Rocks 2018 is set to take place on August second feature guests including DJ Snake, Virtual Self, Mija, GG MAGREE, and Hekler.
August 2010 marked the launch of the Hard Summer Tour, as promoter Gary Richards decided to take the party on the road; 12 dates scattered across the United States and Canada; Incorporating hip-hop into the fold.[3]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Line-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 6, 2010 | Oakland | United States | Fox Theater | Crystal Castles, Rusko, Sinden, Proxy |
| August 9, 2010 | Denver | Ogden Theater | Crystal Castles, Rusko, Sinden, Proxy, Destructo | |
| August 11, 2010 | Austin | Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater | ||
| August 13, 2010 | Chicago | Congress Theater | Crystal Castles, Rusko, Sinden, The Twelves, Destructo | |
| August 14, 2010 | Toronto | Canada | Koolhaus | Crystal Castles, Rusko, Sinden, Destructo |
| August 15, 2010 | Montreal | Metropolis | ||
| August 17, 2010 | Boston | United States | House of Blues | |
| August 18, 2010 | Philadelphia | Electric Factory | ||
| August 20, 2010 | Washington, D.C. | 9:30 Club | ||
| August 21, 2010 | New York City | Terminal 5 | Crystal Castles, Sinden, Destructo | |
| August 22, 2010 | Baltimore | Sonar | Crystal Castles, Rusko, Sinden, Destructo |
Trent Reznor helped organise the event, seeking out the help of out Gary Richards from Hard to do so, stating: "I’ve always respected what [Richards] does with Hard, and I thought that was exactly what we needed."[4]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Line-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard x Mouth Taped Shut | ||||
| December 3, 2011 | Stockholm | Sweden | Sturecompagniet | Miike Snow Sound System, Chase & Status (DJ Set), Noisia, Alex Metric |
| December 9, 2011 | Chicago | United States | Congress | Sebastian Ingrosso, James Murphy, Proxy, DJ Eye |
| December 10, 2011 | New York City | Terminal 5 | The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set), James Murphy, Proxy, DJ Eye | |
| December 16, 2011 | London | England | Coronet | Groove Armada, Labyrinth, Zane Lowe, Beardyman, Madeon |
| December 16, 2011 | San Francisco | United States | Warfield | Major Lazer, James Murphy, Proxy, DJ Eye |
| December 17, 2011 | Los Angeles | Palladium | deadmau5, James Murphy, Proxy, DJ Eye | |
| Hard Summer Tour | ||||
| August 3, 2011 | Seattle | United States | Showbox Sodo | Digitalism (live), Jack Beats, Destructo |
| August 4, 2011 | Portland | Roseland | ||
| August 5, 2011 | Oakland | Fox Theater | ||
| August 6, 2011 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles State Historic Park | Hard Summer Music Festival | |
| August 8, 2011 | El Paso | Club 101 | Digitalism (live), Jack Beats, Destructo | |
| August 9, 2011 | Dallas | Granada | ||
| August 10, 2011 | Austin | Stubb's | ||
| August 12, 2011 | Chicago | Congress | ||
| August 13, 2011 | Toronto | Canada | WEMF @ Madawaska Park | |
| August 14, 2011 | Montreal | Metropolis | Digitalism (live), Destructo | |
| August 16, 2011 | Boston | United States | House of Blues | Digitalism (live), Switch, Designer Drugs, Destructo |
| August 17, 2011 | Baltimore | Bourbon Street | Digitalism (live), Destructo, Dillon Francis | |
| August 18, 2011 | Philadelphia | Electric Factory | Digitalism (live), Switch, Designer Drugs, Destructo | |
| August 19, 2011 | Washington, D.C. | 9:30 Club | Digitalism (live), Switch, Destructo, Dillon Francis | |
| August 20, 2011 | New York City | Terminal 5 | Digitalism (live), Switch, Designer Drugs, Destructo | |
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Line-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 23, 2012 | Fort Lauderdale | United States | Revolution | Boys Noize, Djedjotronic |
| November 24, 2012 | Orlando | House of Blues | Boys Noize (Canceled) | |
| November 28, 2012 | Washington, D.C. | Fillmore | ||
| November 30, 2012 | New York City | Roseland Ballroom | Boys Noize, Spank Rock, Djedjotronic, UZ | |
| December 1, 2012 | Philadelphia | TLA | Boys Noize, Djedjotronic, Love City DJS, Sammy Slice | |
| December 2, 2012 | Boston | House of Blues | Boys Noize, Djedjotronic | |
| December 6, 2012 | Montreal | Canada | Telus Theatre | Boys Noize, Djedjotronic, Jordan Dare, Mayday |
| December 7, 2012 | Toronto | Sound Academy | Boys Noize, DJedjotronic, Mark Hinnen, Rynecologist | |
| December 8, 2012 | Chicago | United States | House of Blues | Boys Noize, Djedjotronic, Le1f |
| December 10, 2012 | St. Louis | Pageant | Boys Noize, Strip Steve | |
| December 14, 2012 | Oakland | Fox Theatre | Boys Noize, Strip Steve, Le1f | |
| December 15, 2012 | Los Angeles | The Hollywood Palladium | Boys Noize, UZ, Destructo, Strip Steve, Le1f | |
| December 16, 2012 | San Diego | House of Blues | Boys Noize, Strip Steve, Destructo | |
| December 18, 2012 | Denver | Fillmore | Boys Noize, Strip Steve | |
| December 20, 2012 | Dallas | House of Blues | Boys Noize (Canceled) | |
| December 21, 2012 | Houston | House of Blues | Boys Noize |
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Line-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 24, 2014 | Melbourne | Australia | The Hi-Fi | Clockwork, Destructo, Oliver, Motez (producer) |
| April 25, 2014 | Sydney | The Ivy | ||
| April 26, 2014 | Adelaide | Thebarton Theatre | ||
| April 27, 2014 | Fremantle | Port Beach Sand Tracks | RL Grime, Destructo, Oliver, Motez (producer) |