Roy Jurgens on August 8th, 2017

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The second day of HARD Summer at the Glen Helen Amphitheater saw upstarts, legends, surprises and a heartfelt goodbye, which is where we’ll start.

Gary Richards, HARD’s impresario, founder, mastermind and anchor, recently announced that he sold his interest in the event to Live Nation, along with his party cruise, Holy Ship. After a 10-year run that saw him build the industry standard, it will be interesting to see what comes next. The kids know what’s up, however. With a sense of loyalty usually reserved for a soccer team, the “Ship Fam” (as they’re known) were out in full effect during Richards’ Destructo set (and all weekend across the grounds), celebrating and expressing gratitude. Midway through his set, Richards came down from his DJ perch to hang among his throng of supporters and feel the love.

||| Also: Day 1 coverage

With six stages strewn across the vast venue, seeing everyone one wanted to see became an exercise in stamina. All killer and no filler was perhaps the reason the grass was littered with exhausted supine millennials by early evening, despite a gracious sun god keeping the heat in the lower 90s. Thankfully, the tragedies that had marred previous HARD Summer events were avoided, largely because of massive hydration stations and several crack EMT teams on standby around the venue.

Those lucky enough to be holding VIP passes chilled in the large azure pool, strategically parked to the left of the Harder stage. Jai Wolf, Snakehips and Ekali provided a perfect poolside soundtrack of infectious bouncy R&B electronica. Migos brought the night with just a few too many rote repetitions of the same shotgun sample. Bassnectar’s “Bassheads” were camped out in full force to head bang to his metal-inspired set, daringly mixed and created on the fly.

Over on the main stage, the aforementioned Destructo’s lovefest got the afternoon pumping, followed by Baauer’s trap (Harlem Shake) and Aussie Emoh Instead’s What So Not (now sans Flume). But other dimensions were realized when Dog Blood (a project comprised of Skrillex and Boys Noize) shredded ear drums with a ripping set accompanied by enough fog to confuse NORAD. Dog Blood’s air assault would have set up an odd segue into Snoop Dogg’s set, but Snoop was on Snoop time, so ears were rested and buds were blazed in anticipation of hearing 1993’s classic jam, “Doggystyle.” With cold 40s atop a picnic table, Snoop brought out the best in hip-hop nostalgia, swaying back and forth, posse in fold, waxing poetic about gin and juice.

Up the hill on the purple stage, Tinashe’s delicious alt-soul was a welcome relief from the 20 Hz thunder hammering the rest of the grounds. She was followed by Mike Will Made It, (who has commanded production for Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z and Katy Perry, among others), now a rising star behind the mic.

The crowd went absolutely apoplectic when Lil Jon came out during Party Favor’s set. The trap producer turned the massive tent into frenzied sauna, which only got hotter and saltier as the day bled into night. Brillz, 12th Planet and Kill the Noize went harder and faster, packing the tent beyond its confines.

Claude Vonstroke headlined the Birdhouse takeover of the pink stage, which saw bouncing sets from Dirtybird’s J Phlip and Justin Martin. Meanwhile, Thugfucker, Motez and Jimmy Edgar delivered crowd-pleasing sets befitting the Corona beach party vibe, mermaids and all. The excellent Shiba San finished off the night there, making it very difficult to leave for one of the main headliners.

Despite not reaching last year’s overall attendance of 150,000, this edition of HARD was a fitting end to Richards’ legacy. Word has it that he’s already engaged in discussion with new backers. Live Nation is an 800-pound gorilla when it comes to concert promotion, but they’ll be hard-pressed to replicate the organic and tribal vibe that made HARD so unique and special to its fans.

Photos by Roy Jurgens