Photography by Philip Cosores
It was no secret going into HARD’s Day Of The Dead festival that things would be a little different this year.
Following a pair of drug-related deaths at the event’s summer incarnation, the county and venue enacted an unusually heavy set of rules on the promoter including cut capacity, beefed-up security, and an age limit, preventing those under 21 from attending. As if that wasn’t enough, the fest worked with a reported 184 police officers and dozens of medical staff alongside at least three on-site emergency physicians to ensure things ran smoothly, and believe us, they did.
With a lineup boasting heavy hitters Skrillex, Deadmau5, Gesaffelstein, and Future, alongside the less predictable bookings of Hot Chip, Glass Animals, Groove Armada, and Club Cheval, HARD managed to maintain its musical identity across the weekend while simultaneously battling the man’s best efforts to suck the life from the party. It’s a war HARD ultimately won, though not without some sacrifice.
Whereas high energy sets from Alison Wonderland and Jauz impressed at the event’s start, many learned an earlier arrival time may be necessary as the fest now boasts multiple security checkpoints. Even before you reach the airport-level body searches, police await with hand-out safety literature educating patrons on the dangers of various illicit substances. Additionally, the outdoor stages of HARD Summer have been scrapped, transforming the event to an entirely indoor affair. This made for a more comfortable experience with the inclusion of air conditioning, though the overall vibe suffered with no music playing as fans moved from stage to stage.
None of these changes seemed to bother fans of the long running event, however, as attendees turned out both in costume and in droves (a reported 20k graced the grounds on day one) to catch their favorite acts, and cruise the grounds with drinks in hand, a definite upside to the age restriction.
Across the weekend, however, one couldn’t shake the feeling of a witch hunt, and the fact it was Halloween had little to do with it. Los Angeles’ tumultuous relationship with dance music is well documented, and has seen HARD faced with numerous challenges since vacating its long time home in LA’s Historic State Park part due to renovation. “This scene is getting a bad wrap,” Skrillex echoed over the mic during his Sunday headlining his set, urging attendees to get home safe and be responsible with their choices, clearly aware of what founder Gary Richards and co. have been through in order to put on the show at all.
And it’s those sort of acknowledgments that help contextualize how in such a short window and under such serious scrutiny, a lesser event would have toppled from the weight of its challenges. But across the weekend at Day of the Dead, HARD proved that by staying true to their vision of impeccable curation, they could turn even the most overwhelming circumstances into a party like no other. Who cares if it takes 200 cops, if HARD events are a world where we can see Future and Deadmau5 in the same day, that’s a world we want to live in.
Check out our 10 most memorable sets from the weekend while you ponder what HARD will come up with in the next nine months before HARD Summer.
–Bryce Segall
Contributing Writer
