Hard (music festival)

Hard

Genre| Electronic, techno, alternative dance, electronic dance music, hip hop, dance-punk, dubstep, house
Location(s)| United States
Years active| 2007 -[1]
Website| hardfest.com

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.

## Hard Summer Music Festival

[edit]

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.

## Hard Red Rocks

[edit]

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.

## National and International Tours

[edit]

### 2007 Hard New Year's Eve Music Festival

[edit]

Date  | City  | Country  | Venue  | Line-up

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December 31, 2007  | Downtown Los Angeles | United States | Downtown LA Arts District Premier Events Center, Los Angeles  | Justice (Dj Set), 2 Live Crew, Steve Aoki, Busy P, Dj A-Track, Whitey, Uberzone, Jason Bentley, Wired All Wrong, Young Americans, Softlightes, Trouble Andrew, Pink Enemy, Afrobots, Royal Palms, Dj Pubes (Obey Giant), Mid City West, Dj Skeet Skeet, Gina Turner Vs. Louisahh, Aaron Castle, Goddollars, Kool Aid, Destructo, Dj Jacques, On-Blast

### 2010 Hard Summer Tour

[edit]

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

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|
|
|

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

### 2011

[edit]

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

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|
|
|

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

### 2012 Hard presents Boys Noize Live

[edit]

Date  | City  | Country  | Venue  | Line-up

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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

### 2014 Hard Straylia

[edit]

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)

## See also

[edit]

* List of electronic music festivals

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Roberts, Randall (2010-05-30). "Dance music grooves to the fore". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
2. ^ KABC (2016-08-02). "3 people die during HARD Summer Music Festival in Fontana". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
3. ^ Time Out Chicago "HARD-boiled" August 12–18, 2010
4. ^ RollingStone.com "Trent Reznor Taps HARD Promoter For 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Events" December 12, 2011

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Hard's channel on YouTube
* About Hard (in Russian)

* v
* t
* e

Live Nation Entertainment

Divisions|

* Live Nation
* Ticketmaster

Subsidiaries|

* Academy Music Group (51%)
* BigChampagne
* C3 Presents (majority stake)
* DF Concerts (part owner)
* Festival Republic (majority owner)
* Gods of Metal
* Hard Events
* MAMA & Company (joint venture)
* Ones to Watch

Festivals|

* Boomtown (18%)
* Bospop
* Budweiser Made in America
* Calling Festival
* Camp Bestival
* Copenhell
* Creamfields
* Download
* The Great Escape
* HoagieNation
* I Love Techno
* Isle of Wight Festival
* Jamboree in the Hills
* Latitude
* Lollapalooza
* Loud Park
* Lowlands
* Lytham Festival
* Main Square Festival (75%)
* MixTape
* Music Midtown
* North Sea Jazz
* Paradiso (partnership)
* Parklife
* The Peach Music Festival
* Pinkpop Festival
* Pukkelpop
* Rock Werchter
* Sasquatch! (partnership)
* Squamish (50%)
* Summer Sonic
* TRNSMT
* Voodoo
* Watershed
* Way Out West

House of Blues
clubs and theatres|

* The Louisville Palace
* Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre
* Saint Andrew's Hall (Detroit)
* Theatre of Living Arts
* Tower Theater

Other venues|

* 3Arena (Dublin)
* Belasco Theater (Los Angeles)
* Blossom Music Center
* Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
* Fillmore Auditorium
* FivePoint Amphitheatre
* Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
* Germania Insurance Amphitheater
* Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (Maryland Heights, Missouri)
* Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (Tinley Park, Illinois)
* Jamboree in the Hills Festival Site
* Jiffy Lube Live
* North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
* Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
* Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
* PNC Bank Arts Center
* PNC Music Pavilion
* Regent Theatre (Los Angeles)
* Rogers Stadium (Toronto)
* Ruoff Music Center
* Toyota Amphitheatre
* Xfinity Center

Related|

United States v. Live Nation Entertainment

* v
* t
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Electronic music events

Live electronic music

Types of events|

* Circuit party
* Acid house party
* Rave
* Algorave
* Free party
* Squat party
* Technoparade
* Teknival
* Doof

Lists of events|

* List of electronic music festivals
* List of industrial music festivals
* List of electronic dance music festivals

Culture|

* Deejay
* Sound system
* Freetekno
* Club drugs
* Second Summer of Love

Related events|

* Music festival
* demo party
* hip hop festival
* reggae festival

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