(Photo by Rukes.com)
If you’re caught up with the news in the EDM world, you’ve probably heard about Jack Ü‘s starfilled performance that featured many special guests, including 2 Chainz, AlunaGeorge, CL and Justin Bieber. Apart from all the craziness that went down last weekend, HARD Summer 2015 was one for the books. Ranging from hip-hop to electronic music, HARD Presents once again outdid themselves to satisfy every single one of their attendees’ musical palate. How do we even begin? The two-day festival in Pomona California was too much epicness to put in words. I think we’ll just end it here.
Just kidding. But there were indeed too many stellar performances to comment on, so we’re going to give our take on some of our favorite sets from Hard Summer. You’re about to relive some of the greatest moments from the annual summertime radness.
1. Big Gigantic
And the saxiest performance award goes to… Yes, Big Gigantic! The Colorado-based electronic duo absolutely brought down the house with their electrifying set. Coming on after fellow future funk artist GRiZ and headlining the 7-Up (Green) Stage, Big Gigantic gave every bit of their energy to their performance. Fusing dubstep and hardhitting bass with soul and funk, they definitely made their sound one of a kind. Dom the saxophonist held it down for all the live instrument performers and it goes to show how their music was able to reach out to so many different crowds, even at a EDM-filled festival.
2. Porter Robinson
(Photo by Jake West)
Something magical happens everytime we see Porter Robinson perform. The Worlds producer tweaks his live shows all the time by adding in different edits and transitions of his own songs, and making every set unique. His performance at HARD Summer was stellar to say the least. Filling the HARD Stage with a sea of people was no easy task, but he managed to do just that. It was visually stunning and emotionally provoking; it’s also everything a hardcore Porter fan could ask for. Everybody was already singing along to “Sad Machine” right when he started his set, and was left in tears as he ended it with “Language”. Only a handful artists could do the same to the audience as Porter did. Kudos to the just-turned-23-year-old feels capturer.
3. Jai Wolf
The “Indian Summer” producer managed to pack Purple Stage to over capacity with just 15 minutes into his set. He was among the youngest bunch to perform at this year’s festival. The list goes on… From “Lotus Eater”, remix of Odesza‘s “Say My Name”, remix of Mocki‘s “Weekend”, or ending his set on a high note with his version of Skrillex‘s “Ease My Mind”, Jai Wolf showcased his caliber to the fullest. He also had Mark Johns as his special guest, and the whole crowd just went nuts. Everyone was living in their own world during his set, and left talking about it for the rest of the festival. TMN is very excited to see what new music the yung producer has in store for us in the near future.
4. Die Antwoord
(Photo by HARD Presents)
In the midst of their American tour, Die Antwoord stopped by HARD Summer, took over and left everyone in awe. As if the photo above doesn’t speak enough (or too little), the South African alternative hip-hop group represented everything they stand for in the music community and brought down the Harder Stage with their cunningly crafty and one-of-a-kind performance. To everyone’s surprise, actor Jack Black (who was featured in Die Antwoord’s “Ugly Boy” music video) even came out during the set. With that said, if you haven’t seen Ninja or Yolandi perform before, you’re definitely missing out.
5. Jack Ü
Are you sick of listening to “Where Are U Now” on the radio? We are too, but Jack Ü has undeniably crushed it with their spectacular performance, and was definitely the HARD crowd’s favorite. Let’s start with the special guests. 2 Chainz popped out of nowhere during “Febreze”, Fly Boi Keno came out for “Beats Knockin'”, Aluna from AlunaGeorge performed “To U” and DJ Snake‘s version of ‘You Know You Like It”, CL from 2NE1 performed Diplo’s “Dirty Vibe” and “Revolution”, and hollywood golden child Justin Bieber closed out the night with “Where Are U Now”. The starpower was incredible and arguably topped Ultra Miami’s earlier this year. It was a party from beginning til end, as Skrillex and Diplo managed to take their bounce-influenced electronic music to the biggest stage. You could see the Skrill and Diplo waving their Jack U flag throughout the night, and many followers rocking their apparel in the crowd. They have successfully started a movement, and to say their performance was epic is an understatement.
And that concludes it with our review for HARD. With the amount of positivity going into the weekend, TMN is proud to say that we had a blast. Like Jauz said during his set, we were all there for one reason and one reason only: music. These artists continued to inspire and entertain all around the world, and HARD offered a great platform for that matter. With that said, we’ll see you all next year for another unforgettable weekend.
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