Body glitter and hand fans—maybe not the best UV protection for a near-triple-digit weekend. But who are we to rain on the sweaty, high-on-life (and EDM and other things) revelry at this past weekend’s HARD Summer, which returned to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
It’s still the EDM fest in SoCal, thanks to the likes of mega names like Marshmello, TOKiMONSTA, Virtual Self, Diplo, Dillon Francis, Zeds Dead, Jauz, Louis the Child and Flosstradamus. But this year’s two-day fest was marked by a deeper-than-usual hip-hop lineup—far beyond the typical legacy rapper or of-the-moment trap act. Travis Scott and Rick Ross were by far the biggest names, but the rest of the rap bill belonged to the likes of CupcakKe, Saweetie, Lil Xan and, uh, self-described non-human Jaden Smith.
Summer music festivals and punishing heat seem to always go hand in hand, and HARD made a few cool decisions this year: Stages were moved off of the hot pavement and onto the infield grass where the campgrounds once resided, and more free water stations and shade structures were added to the grounds. All in all, the changes kept crowds moving efficiently—though the same couldn’t always be said about the artists’ punctuality.
Check out our favorite crowd shots, artist portraits and pyro-filled photos below.
All photographs by Jade Park.
SAYMYNAME
CupcakKe
Flosstradamus
Flosstradamus
Jaden Smith
Louis the Child
Louis the Child
Louis the Child
Zeds Dead B2B Jauz
Zeds Dead B2B Jauz
Marshmello
Icy Narco
Marshmello
Marshmello
A-Trak B2B Baauer
Saweetie
Hippie Sabotage
Hippie Sabotage
Hippie Sabotage
Petit Biscuit
Snakehips
Snakehips
Lil Xan
MØ
MØ
TOKiMONSTA
TOKiMONSTA
Travis Scott
Diplo B2B Dillon Francis
Diplo B2B Dillon Francis
Virtual Self
Virtual Self