All throughout high school, I dreamt of attending Hard Summer Music Festival. An over 18+ music festival that used to take place in Pomona, where artists of all genres [but mainly EDM] performed. I remember always seeing posts from people from my high school attending and always talked about going with my friends once we turned of age. The festival takes place towards the end of Summer when the heat is usually the worst.
The Summer after I graduated high school, I was too broke to attend so I didn’t go. I had a strong case of FOMO and promised myself that I’d attend the following year - in 2018.
Fast forward to the Summer of 2018. Some stuff had happened in my personal life, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to go. Thankfully, last minute I was able to. I was super excited to go with my best friends from college. The venue had also changed to the Autoclub Speedway in Fontana. The year before the event had been moved to Glen Helen, and I heard amazing things about it. I didn’t know what to expect at the Speedway, but my friends and I were anything but prepared.
My friends and I parked a few blocks away, and I was dreading the walk because of how hot it was. By the time we got to the parking lot for the venue - NOT even the entrance, I felt like I was gonna die. My head was pounding and I was super dizzy. I hadn’t really eaten before we left and I was already kinda dehydrated. While everyone used the bathroom, I remember I was sitting down regretting my choice to come. We chugged water and prepared to walk in.
Right when we walked down from the bleachers onto the track, all the dust and dirt immediately was everywhere. Once we found our friends and walked for what felt like forever, my face and body were covered in dirt - I looked and felt ridiculous. For the first few sets we watched, I sat down and chugged Powerade and water hoping I’d feel better. It was hard to enjoy the music when I felt terrible.
Fast forward to the end of the festival and walking back to the car. Walking out of the venue was pure hell and chaos. And to top it all off there was no cell signal anywhere. Finding our group and getting back to the car sucked. When we got back to the house we were staying at, I felt sick and nauseous. I showered and threw up the Slurpee I’d chugged after we left the venue and saw all the dirt I’d inhaled.
I fell asleep with a pounding headache and a lot of regrets. In the morning, I tried to sell my wristband but I couldn’t get it off of my wrist no matter what trick I tried from Youtube and the internet. I guess it was a sign to go. Day 2 was more fun. We parked closer and I ate a full meal before hand. The dirt was just as bad as well as the lack of signal, but overall I had an okay time.
My high school self would be super disappointed at my Hard experience, but I’m glad I went. It’s definitely an event I’ll never forget but I for sure will not be attending ever again. Unless they switch venues.
