By Alexis Huizar (@Gllittergoddess on Instagram and Twitter)
Hard Summer was my first event ever back in 2016 and as unorganized as it was, I will be returning for my 4th year this year. Hard Summer was once owned by Live Nation until 2018 when Insomniac bought it and transformed it last year. It is held on the first weekend of August at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA.
The Venue
The Auto Club Speedway is located in Fontana, California. Since the venue is full of concrete and it is also held in August, this event is extremely hot. Insomniac helped beat the heat by adding turf throughout the venue to cool off the ground and also provided lots of covered areas with misters to walk under while traveling from stage to stage. Most stages are covered with tarps while both main stages are open. The tarps do protect from the sun, but it also makes it super hot, especially if you are close to other people so a fan is highly recommended. Getting there is pretty simple, luckily for me I live 10 minutes from the venue, but I would highly recommend avoiding Uber/Lyft just because the surge charges for when the fest is over which is typical of any event. Of course, you want to be safe if you will be drinking but just plan ahead to get home the safest and most convenient way for you and your crew.
Tickets
Tickets for hard, or at least tiers, fly by extremely fast. Tiers 1-3 were gone in seconds after tickets dropped. I would recommend getting your tickets as early as possible especially since the prices will increase quickly! The lineup for HARD drops before tickets go on sale, which is nice so people can decide if there are any artists they would like to go to see.
Inside the Festival
Hard Summer is one of the busiest events that Insomniac holds, bringing in lots of people who may not regularly attend events so that being said, the crowd can be a bit more “rowdy”, but don’t let that stop you from having a good time. Also being that Hard also includes hip-hop artists, for example Kid Cudi this year, it brings in a different crowd rather than a fest that is strictly EDM. I always make it a priority to get to the event early to avoid traffic and long lines entering the venue. The event begins at 12pm and expect the event to at least be 90 degrees, so prepare beforehand hydrate and stay hydrated throughout the festival. Last year there was only one water station, hopefully they will add more this year, but plan ahead and drink up that water. Something else that was new last year was the incredible amounts of dust so don’t be surprised if you walk out with a few layers of dirt on you. I would prepare for this with face masks to protect your face and mouth. Apply sunscreen beforehand to avoid getting burned and take breaks!
What to Wear
Wear whatever makes you feel beautiful! I will definitely be busting out the neon once again this year at hard summer and I encourage you all to wear beautiful bright colors! Some of my favorite shops are Freedom Rave Wear (code: GllittergodesssL10), Rave with Mi Gente, Rave After Rave, Dolls Kill (Which is where I purchase all my platforms) and BrittsBlossoms and KritterKlips (Code: Gllittergoddess for both) for some cute accessories. If you ladies are planning on wearing platforms, definitely break them in before the festival if possible. Wear insoles and also, if you tend to get blisters, invest in surgical tape to tape the areas of your foot you may get blisters. I always tape my pinkie toe and heel and did this all 3 days of EDC and got 0 blisters while wearing platforms all 3 days!
Must-See Artists
I will be attending both days of the festival this year! I am most excited to see Excision b2b Nghtmre, Dillon Francis, Ghastly, 12th Planet, Dombresky, Born Dirty, Dombresky, Zhu b2b Tchami, Kayzo, Anti Up, Kill the Noise and many more! If you have no idea who these artists are on the lineup, while at the festival explore and find out who you like! I always find it better when I end up seeing other acts I didn’t plan on and enjoying the adventure.
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