When it comes to American dance music culture, few events carry the cool cache of a HARD party. Founded on New Year's Eve of 2008 by DJ and former label A&R Gary Richards, the name HARD has become synonymous with taste-making, offering fans an enviable mix of influential headliners and cutting-edge up-and-comers.
HARD parties have been a breakout platform for luminaries like Justice, Skrillex, deadmau5, and more, and the HARD Summer festival is one of the brand's most celebrated flagship events. In 2017, HARD was absorbed into the Insomniac festival family — the same company that brings fan-favorites EDC Las Vegas and Electric Forest to life — which ensures the stage production, on-site activities and other ancillary fun are sure to be supersized. How many festivals do you know that offer a Ferris wheel and a swimming pool?
Coming to Los Angeles' Hollywood Park near SoFi Stadium on Aug. 3 and 4, this year's lineup continues the tradition of blending authoritative artists, legacy DJs and unique back-to-back headliners with buzzy newcomers in a variety of genres and styles.
Whether you wanna rave out with club king Jamie xx, bang your head to bass with Zeds Dead, get tropical with Major Lazer, see what it sounds like for UK grime star Skepta to DJ, or just sing along to mid-2000s belters courtesy of dance-pop crossover queen Nelly Furtado, there's something to please every palette. Of course, in true HARD tradition, we seriously recommend exploring the undercard, because the biggest name in electronic music tomorrow is probably playing one of the HARD side stages today.
While you wrap your head around the stacked lineup, check out a quick guide to 10 must-see acts below.
A legend on the decks who can play blissful disco or teeth-shattering techno with a smile, Boys Noize is a must-see on any lineup simply because he loves doing the job. He recently teamed with Skrillex on the anthem "Fine Day," and released an entire EP with alt-rap icon Rico Nasty. He's also the producer behind Lady Gaga's beloved Ariana Grande collab, "Rain On Me," and Playboi Carti's "Unlock It," but he's likely to unleash a massive set of hard techno bangers for the L.A. crowd — though you never can tell which direction he'll take you in next, so come with an open mind.
As the top-billed headliner for Saturday night, Disclosure should need little to no introduction to any modern dance music fan — but that doesn't mean you should sleep on their set.
Howard and Guy Lawrence emerged on the scene as seemingly an instant success. The brothers' debut album, Settle, almost single-handedly changed the landscape of popular dance in 2012, moving the taste du jour away from the big-room EDM and bass-heavy trap sound toward a UK garage revival that still carries, and helped launch Sam Smith's career in the process.
In the 12 years that followed, Disclosure has continued to push the envelope — and themselves — working with cross-genre heavyweights including Lorde, Khalid, Miguel, Kelis, Slowthai, and The Weeknd, as well as incorporating international sounds and styles into their club-driven house grooves. Earlier this year, Disclosure returned with the dance floor-ready single "She's Gone, Dance On," announcing themselves as arbiters of disco-laced funk and good-time DJs for 2024 crowds. Surely they'll be in top form come HARD Summer.
If you like your dark techno to come with a side of hip-shaking Latin rhythms, Miami-bred duo INVT is the experimental sound machine you can't possibly pass up. Luca Medici and Delbert Perez have been best friends since they were kids, and that closeness comes through in their tight experimental sets, blending booming bass with glitched-out techno synths, cumbia rhythms, dembow beats, and acidic edge.
INVT are — as the name may imply — extremely innovative, leaning into their own productions and edits to curate an approach that feels hypnotic, exciting and unique. If you're not afraid of beats that go really hard and get a little weird, this is a set that can set your wild mind ablaze.
What happens when you put two of the most unique and hard-hitting producers in electronic music together on one stage? Deadmau5 is one of the scene's leading icons, and Rezz (who released her debut album of deadmau5's Mau5trap label in 2017) shifted bass music culture with her gritty, techno-fueled, half-time sound. The two share a love of dark, stomping, left-field noise, and after years of teasing possible collaborations, those shared interests merged on the 2021 collaboration "Hypnocurrency." Two years later, they released the booming, dystopian 2023 single "Infraliminal" — not just a brilliant rework of deadmau5's 2012 track "Superliminal," but the official introduction to Rezzmau5.
Rezzmau5 haven't released anything since, and live performances from the duo have remained few and far between. But the monolithic duo just warmed up their trippy joint live show at Tomorrowland 2024, which was set in "the mythical realm of Silvyra," a world "filled with creatures, plant life, and people living in harmony." Whether or not their HARD set follows the same storyline, it's certain to shake the skulls of every dancer at Hollywood Park. Prepare your body for something deep, dark and maniacal.
There aren't many electronic acts that bring the same level of frontman energy that Elderbrook boasts on stage. A multi-talented performer, the UK artist sings and plays instruments, creating a rock-show experience unlike most sets at heavily electronic festivals like HARD. He leads the crowd in heartfelt sing-alongs to hits including "Numb," "Something About You," "Inner Light" and, of course, his megahit CamelPhat collab "Cola."
Bouncing between his microphone, synthesizers and keyboards, samplers and drum pads, his one-man band performance is sure to draw a serious crowd. If you're ready for a break from the hard-edged rave noise and want to ascend to heavenly heights, Elderbrook is the man for the job.
Nothing is more fun than watching two best mates go absolutely nuts on the decks. And when two stellar DJs go back-to-back, everyone wins, because they spend the whole set trying to impress each other.
Chris Lake is one of the most influential producers in tech house. Fisher is one of the most unhinged and energizing DJs one can ever witness. Together, the besties deliver an over-the-top party with an arsenal of mind-numbing drops, weirdo grooves and just-plain fun vibes that make you wanna hug your friends and dance 'til you sweat. The set is called Under Construction, but make no mistake: these two have completely mastered the blueprint.
If you like your sets to be playful cross-genre explorations of sounds from around the world — tied together by booty-shaking beats and booming bass lines — JYOTY is sure to check all your boxes. She knows how to lead a great party because she spent her childhood frequenting the unmatched clubs of Amsterdam. And with an ethos built around playing whatever the heck she wants, she's comfortable dropping a bit of hip-hop into some Brazilian bops, mixing it up with hard breakbeats, blistering rave synths and more.
If you don't know your history, you're doomed to repeat it, but no one brings the house down quite like Kerri Chandler. A pioneer of the original deep and garage house movements, Chandler was a foundational DJ of the '80s scene, holding down a residency at the legendary Club Zanzibar in New Jersey and founding the MadHouse Records label. If you want to feel the soulful spirit that made electronic music what it is, Chandler's dreamy mix of feel-good melodies served over kickin' club beats are a direct line to house music's roots.
You know how Mary Poppins had a magical bag that held everything from a hat rack to an ornate mirror, a house plant and a Tiffany lamp? Well, California DJ Mary Droppinz comes equipped with a magical USB that's positively bursting with mean beats and original edts.
This woman can blend everything from grimy bouncing bass to ethereal orchestral house, Spice Girls reworks, drum'n'bass bangers, reggae upbeats, '90s R&B remixes and chart-topping hits of the moment twisted into face-melting heaters. You can try to guess where she'll go next, but it's better to just let her take control and follow the vibe through all the devious twists and turns. The one thing you can count on? You'll leave her set dripping with sweat.
Disclosure aren't the only brilliant UK brothers on the HARD Summer lineup. Overmono's Tom and Ed Russell hail from Wales and make some of the most inspired club records of our time.
With backgrounds exploring hard techno, drum'n'bass and rave, the brothers combined their talents in 2015 and have since created an enviable blend of soulful atmospheres and frenetic breakbeats that feels nostalgic and sentimental, but still very heavy. Overmono's 2023 album Good Lies is a great play from start to finish, and a good way to get prepped for their critically acclaimed live set. If you need a big-name co-sign, Overmono was recently featured on Fred again..'s "Stayinit" with Lil Yachty on the vocal. That's the caliber they're rockin' with — and the prestige they'll bring to HARD Summer.