Kaskade returns to Downtown Los Angeles for HARD Summer’s 15th anniversary

To an outsider, it may seem like Los Angeles-based DJ and noted record producer Kaskade has done it all.

Some of his most recent milestones include opening and selling out the brand new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in 2021. Last year, he teamed up with fellow DJ, Deadmau5, for the Kx5 project, which broke a record for the largest single-day event headlined by an electronic music act in North America when the duo played the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in December.  According to Billboard, it was the biggest ticketed global headliner dance event of 2022.

This flurry of activity was “a wild yet enjoyable breeze,” as he described it during a recent interview. Though he’s received numerous accolades, topped the music charts and headlined major festivals around the world, he said there is one thing he still hasn’t done.

Kaskade has never headlined Insomniac’s HARD Summer Music Festival.

He’ll be there this year, topping the bill on the first evening of the two-day event, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary on Aug. 5-6. HARD Summer will take place in multiple venues and across several stages set up at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and BMO Stadium (formerly Banc of California Stadium) in Downtown Los Angeles. Kaskade will also be sharing the stage by doing a B2B set and splitting the decks with fellow DJ John Summit.

“If you can believe it, this is actually the first time I’m playing HARD Summer, which is crazy because I feel like I’ve played at every massive event in California that exists,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve always looked at HARD as the ‘cool guy,’ so I’m happy to be invited. They’ve always been super progressive in who they booked, and it’s the perfect platform for me to finally play a cool back-to-back.”

The popular Southern California EDM fest is returning to Los Angeles for the first time since 2010 and will also serve as part of the LA Coliseum’s centennial anniversary celebration. Skrillex will be doing a B2B set with Four Tet to close out the event on Sunday, Aug. 6. Other performers include 21 Savage, Black Coffee, Oliver Tree, Dillon Francis, Jungle, Kayzo, Diplo B2B Blond:ish, Fat Joe, Two Feet, Ludacris, Deorro, Yellow Claw B2B Flosstradamus and more.

Kaskade, who was born in Chicago, is stoked to share his spotlight with Summit, another Chicago native, and he said it’s the perfect opportunity to have a little more fun, mess around with the set and really interact with the crowd.

“Literally nothing has been planned or plotted out for this set yet,” he said. “It feels like we’re winging it, but in the best way possible. (Summit) is coming over a week before the festival so at that point, I think that’s when we’ll figure out what the hell we’re doing, because we don’t actually know. But we always figure it out. We know it has to be epic, so as long as we got that down, were in good shape.”

Though Kaskade, 52, and Summit, 28, have two different generations of audiences, there’s a lot of crossover and Kaskade said they share a love for the DIY Chicago house music scenes and for the electronic music that’s allowed them both to connect with millions of fans. It was at Lollapalooza Chicago that Summit was introduced to Kaskade’s music for the first time as his 2008 song “I Remember” erupted through the speakers during Deadmau5’s set. That moment inspired Summit to start producing music at just 16-years-old. Kaskade found the young DJ online six years later and that led to occasional meetups, exchanging music via text chains and an impromptu New Year’s Eve B2B set at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco to ring in 2023.

With Summit around, Kaskade said he feels like he’s looking at a younger, more energetic version of himself.

“Well let’s see, I feel like John is me, but a long time ago,” he said. “When I found him, he was in the beginning stages of getting buzz and I was intrigued with what he was doing. He’s just this new kid from Chicago and that was me once upon a time. He’s on the same path that I took way back in the day and I just wanted to help this dude out in any way possible. So, I’ve been about him for a while now, so it does feel full circle.”

For Kaskade, the LA Coliseum is starting to feel like a second home. Aside from the record-breaking show last year, he played evening sets at Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival at the venue in 2009 and 2010. His ties with Insomniac Events are strong, as he notes he’s grown alongside the event company’s founder and CEO, Pasquale Rotella, who has been instrumental in the EDM festival circuit. He reminisced on when the two started out and had no clue what the future would hold except the possibility of birthing a new community.

“Before this EDM boom the world is experiencing now, we were just doing it for the love of it,” Kaskade said. “I’ve known Pasquale for over 25 years and we were in it before there was any money or fame, so it means a lot for those who have been around. We didn’t do it to buy big houses or for the glamour, we did this because we love what we do. I have so much respect for Insomniac, they just keep continuing to push forward and every year they continue to up the energy and it blows my mind. It’s like what are they going to do next year? Have me on a floating stage? I’m not sure where the end is, but that’s the cool part.”

As Kaskade gears up for his HARD Summer debut, he knows the stakes at hand, considering how the community has flourished in recent years. Sure, he’s played almost everywhere, but there’s nothing like coming home to an Insomniac crowd, a community that gave him the wings to fly in the first place.

“I’ve played all over the world and traveled to pretty much everywhere and played almost every festival and I can say without a doubt this is the best community in this music around the globe, and Southern California is a part of that, so anytime I get to play here, it’s a treat,” he said. “There’s always some massive moment here in Los Angeles that I build my year around and I feel fortunate enough to say that.”

HARD Summer Music Festival

When: 2 p.m.-11 p.m. Aug. 5-6

Where: LA Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and BMO Stadium, 3911 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles.

Tickets: Two-day general admission tickets start at $229; VIP two-day tickets start at $409. Fans can also put down deposits on tickets starting at $19.95. For more information on the festival and tickets, go to hardsummer.com.