The 2015 edition of HARD Summer is officially in the books concluding the past weekend full of talented artists, summer vibes, and dancing with friends at the Pomona Fairplex. However, from social media to overheard conversations from fans throughout the day, the festival appeared to received mixed reviews. Festival-goers either had the time of their lives or were seriously reconsidering coming to another HARD event until some of the complaints were addressed.

Ultimately one thing that could not be denied: the music selection was incredible and stood out from past events giving everyone something they could groove to.

Unlike most daytime festivals, the venue was packed at the beginning of each day. This was not only due to the sold out venue that included an additional 20,000 people each day as compared to HARD Day of the Dead, but also because the talent given early performance times. The artists given early day slots were not the usual “opening acts” and instead each had a pretty established career.

It is always great to see a venue that is full for the entire day so this was a pleasant surprise. However, the heat sometimes drove fans away from the HARD (main) Stage and the HARDer stage that were both in direct sunlight for the entire weekend. This only caused more issues for the other three stages, the Pink Stage, the Purple Stage, and the 7UP Green Stage, that were set up in three hangars on the property that could usually not accommodate all attendees that wanted to view the performances.

Capacity for each hangar would usually be reached before or very early into the performance while fire marshals worked to confirm more guests entering. Another reason crowds flocked to the hangars was due to the sound issues that both the outside stages experienced only for attendees to realize the hangars were not much better. The first day there were multiple requests being yelled from the crowd for HARD to turn up the volume. This was understandable when sounds of shoes could be heard squeaking on the ground or fans were speaking in normal voices to one another when they were near the front of the stage. Most electronic shows have loud sound systems that project to the next speaker stack but this did not seem to be the case at HARD Summer which took away from the amazing performances that were being delivered. 

Fortunately, the talent playing at HARD Summer caused the crowd to try to withstand the heat and the capacity issues to see their favorite artists they had been planning to see.

On day one, Dirtyphonics brought an electric energy to the HARD stage with their signature drum ’n’ bass and dubstep set leaving some of the crowd energized and ready for more. This brought some of the crowd to the 7UP Green Stage to witness Mija. The versatility of this artist, shown by her “fk a genre” mix that was released on SoundCloud late last year, was enough to have the packed stage moving throughout her entire set.

Next up was The Glitch Mob at the HARD Stage with their live stage setup named "The Blade" that used a live Lemur Input Device as well as a large drum to perform for the attendees sticking it out in the constant sunlight. Most artists that are vocal tend to ruin their performance but the execution of The Glitch Mob seemed very genuine and appropriate only enhancing their set. The performance was easy to get lost in and just as soon as it started it seemed it was over turning over the stage to the one and only Tchami sporting a short sleeve shirt with a clerical collar. He started with his track “After Life” gearing the crowd up for his incredible danceable set that had the entire crowd moving, jumping, and smiling for the performance.

Right as he was finishing, it was time for Destructo, AKA Gary Richards the owner of HARD, to take the stage at the Pink Stage. For those that missed his set I would recommend to check him out at HARD Presents A Night at Fairplex on September 10 or HARD Day of the Dead to experience him live. Everyone was in a constant state of motion that enlivened the hangar to a point I had not witnessed.

The main stage was packed for Porter Robinson and his stunning visual show, accompanied by all music that was produced by himself. And finally it was time for Dillon Francis that would be performing a moombahton set. Sadly, the crowd was not into the set and the poor sound quality caused much of the crowd to leave including myself. Finishing with Hot Since 82 was a great way to end the night ending with the crowd clapping and cheering in appreciation at the conclusion of the set.

Day two had a mixed energy due to the discovery that two young girls had died of suspected drug overdoses the night before. This is not the first time there has been a death in relation to a dance music festival but it has finally seemed to spark a dialogue that has been long overdue. There is a temporary ban on “raves” on county grounds but new precautions are being discussed to address the issue of drug use at music festivals.

It is not a new surprise that drugs have been associated with music festivals but the surge in incidents shows that new measures need to be developed to either stop entry, which is far from unlikely, or to start providing harm reduction (similar to safe sex education) measures to educate attendees about the risks, dangers, and precautions that can be taken to prevent those problems. This only serves to show that just offering free water at festivals is not enough and that attendees should not only look out for themselves but also look out for others that may be in trouble. Medical personnel are there to help keep people safe and not there to punish. Luckily there were no major problems on day two.

As for the music on day two, JAUZ had an extremely amplified set that had his major fans, commonly referred to as his Shark Squad, thrashing and jumping to every minute. Robin Schulz was replaced last minute by Chris Lake that threw down a danceable future/deep house set at the HARDer stage that allowed fans to gather under the trees in the back to enjoy the set even though the heat still had not backed down. Afterward, the South African group, Die Antwoord, took the stage for an eclectic live performance that was unexpected but well received from the immense crowd. Zeds Dead was starting at the main stage during Die Antwoord so I raced over to catch one of the most invigorated sets of the weekend causing the crowd to all dance to the same pulse in a rhythmic rocking motion to the heavy bass drops of the duo.

Chromeo’s funk-filled set had the crowd singing along with the performers and even had security personnel dancing behind the gates. Hands down probably one of, if not the best, sets of the entire weekend. However, most of the attendance was already at RL Grime both for his performance and to grab a spot for Jack Ü. Both performances were great but if you were unfortunate to be in the back of the filled stage area you could only hear the bass rhythms and nothing else which drastically took away from the performance including when Jack Ü brought out special guests such as Aluna Francis (from AlunaGeorge) and Justin Beiber. 

Overall, HARD Summer was a great festival filled with outstanding talent and performances. Was it perfect? No it was not, but what festival is? This was only the second time HARD produced a show at the Fairplex and there is plenty of time to fix problems that have been brought up to the company. I know that I will mostly likely be attending HARD Day of the Dead in a few months due to HARD’s reputation of providing a stellar roster.

Reach Staff Reporter Marc Sessa here.