Gary Richards at Miami Music Week 2018

Gary Richards

Photo: Sergi Alexander/Getty Images

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HARD Events Founder Gary Richards Announces New L.A. Festival

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The HARD Events founder and former LiveNation exec is bringing a new installment of his AMF brand to L.A.
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Apr 11, 2018 - 1:36 pm

Business has been good for Gary Richards in 2018. Since parting ways with LiveNation – as well as his brainchild production company HARD Events, of which LN owns a controlling share – in Sept. 2017 to take over as President of North American events for LiveStyle, he has acted quickly to establish his new flagship events brand "All My Friends." First up: a new summer music festival set to take place in downtown Los Angeles.

Richards has been expertly teasing the rollout for the AMF brand with a series of activations and smaller events, first teeing up the inaugural voyage of Friend Ship cruise festival – which has already sold out almost a year before the event dates – then hosting a marathon day party during Miami Music Week under the "All My Friends" banner that kicked off at 5 a.m. and ran until midafternoon.

The dance festival czar's latest project will continue to expand his LiveStyle footprint with All My Friends Festival Los Angeles, set to take place in the large outdoor venue ROW LA (which L.A. natives might recognize as the home of the Smorgasburg weekly farmer's market).

The two-day event's official lineup is still forthcoming, but the press release announcing the new venture promises three stages packed with futurebass, R&B and top tier hip-hop acts.

All My Friends Festival Los Angeles will take place Aug. 18 – 19. Early-bird presale tickets will go on-sale on Apr. 12 at 9 a.m. Pacific.

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M.I.A., 2018

M.I.A.

Photo: Dominique Charriau/Getty Images

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MIA, Gucci Mane, Jhené Aiko: AMF Fest Announces Inaugural Headliners

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The first edition of Gary Richards' new Los Angeles festival boasts a strong bill of headliners
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Apr 19, 2018 - 11:55 am

Former HARD Events founder and new LiveStyle majordomo of North American activities Gary Richards has announced the slate of headliners for his new downtown Los Angeles-based multigenre music festival All My Friends L.A.

Set in downtown L.A.'s ROW outdoor venue near the former American Apparel warehouse, the two-day, three-stage event will feature landmark headlining sets from RL Grime, Gucci Mane, and Jhené Aiko on its opening day, and M.I.A., Jamie XX, and Armand Van Helden to close out the weekend.

The full lineup of supporting acts for the weekend remains forthcoming, but this initial headliner tease promise big things to come.

Prior to launching his new flagship festival, Richards has been slowly teasing the rollout for the AMF brand with a series of activations and smaller events, first teeing up the inaugural voyage of Friend Ship cruise festival – which has already sold out almost a year before the event dates – then hosting a marathon day party during Miami Music Week under the "All My Friends" banner that kicked off at 5 a.m. and ran until midafternoon.

All My Friends L.A. is set to rip up downtown Los Angeles Aug. 18 – 19. The first tier of Early Bird tickets have already sold out, but tier 2 tickets are still available. Tickets and more information are all available from AMF's official website.

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Halsey, 2018

Halsey

Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images

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Halsey, ODESZA, Migos & More Announced For Breakaway Festival 2018

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Breakaway Music Festival's flagship destination has unveiled its biggest lineup ever
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
May 10, 2018 - 1:50 pm

Music fans in Columbus, Ohio, are in for a treat this summer as Breakaway Music Festival has just unleashed a killer lineup for their flagship three-day multigenre event Breakaway Columbus.

With a lineup stacked with the names Flosstradamus, Smokepurpp, Jaden Smith, Flatbush Zombies, Chris Lake, and more, plus Halsey, ODESZA, and Migos tapped as daily headliners, the event's made it loud and clear that Breakaway Columbus is where Ohio residents can find a festival with energetic, forward-thinking lineups right in their own backyard.

And if the billing of rising stars of rap, electronic/dance, and pop wasn't incentive enough, Kaskade and Khalid will be putting in an appearance as the festival's mysteriously billed "special guests."

Breakaway Columbus will be held Aug. 24 – 26 at Columbus' MAPFRE Stadium. Tickets to the festival are still available.

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Tiësto, 2015

Tiësto

Photo: Jason LaVeris/Getty Images

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Tiësto, Alesso Top The Billing For Electric Zoo 2018 Phase 2 Lineup

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The NYC-based electronic music festival has finally unveiled its full roster of performers
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
May 2, 2018 - 6:03 pm

New York City's Electric Zoo festival is rounding the final corner on its 10th year. To commemorate the big milestone, the festival promoters have assembled a killer lineup of top-tier performers that pays tribute to all major subgenres of dance music.

Previously announced headliners for Electric Zoo 2018 include Kaskade, Marshmello and Martin Garrix, as well as acclaimed DJ/producer Porter Robinson's new alias project Virtual Self. Now joining this impressive stable of mainstage heroes are GRAMMY-winning trance/big room house DJ/producer Tiësto and GRAMMY-nominated progressive house DJ/producer Alesso.

Rounding out a lineup that's positively stacked from top to bottom are internationally established acts like progressive trance hitmakers Gabriel & Dresden, dub/future bass shapeshifters Boombox Cartel, LiveStyle North American President Gary Richards' DJ/producer alias Destructo, and blues-EDM fusion act Gramatik, as well as rising stars of the scene Australian techno showstopper Anna Lunoe, Dutch trap/future bass don San Holo, and Skrillex-cosigned dubstep wizard Habstrakt, among others.

The three-day EDM jubilee will take place over Labor Day Weekend, Aug. 31 – Sept. 2, on New York City's historic Randall's Island. Tickets are now on sale.

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Will Smith, Marshmello at Ultra 2018

Will Smith and Marshmello

Photo: aLIVE Coverage/Ultra Music Festival

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Inside Ultra Music Festival's Record-Breaking 20th Anniversary

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Look back at the amazing surprises and record-setting stats from Ultra's 20th anniversary
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Apr 5, 2018 - 2:16 pm

As the event set to celebrate a whirlwind 20 years in the game grew closer, expectations were unbelievably high for Ultra Music Festival 2018. The dizzying, non-stop bacchanalia spread across three gorgeous days saw staggering attendance, record-setting viewer numbers on the official livestream, and countless amazing surprises.

With marquee performances by festival mainstays like Tiësto and David Guetta, plus a whole host of incendiary sets lighting up the floor throughout the weekend, Ultra 2018 had something for every flavor of dance music fan. With such a variety – and immensely high quality – of both talent and production, it's no surprise that the 20th anniversary of the festival drew over 165,000 attendees from 60 countries around the world, while the official livestream drew a record-shattering 30 million (!) viewers worldwide.

Surprise appearances by music's biggest acts are always a part of the energy and excitement  that takes over downtown Miami each year, but for their 20th birthday Ultra pulled out all the stops. Along with scheduled performances from both Rabbit In The Moon and Josh Wink – both of whom played the very first installment of the dance festival in 1999 – attendees were treated to shocking surprise appearances by Above & Beyond, Halsey, Desiigner, Yo Gotti, and even Will Smith, who took the stage with Marshmello and banged out his timely international smash hit "Miami."

And of course, the close of the festival brought about what will undoubtedly remain one of the most talked-about surprises of the 2018 festival season: the triumphant return  of Swedish House Mafia after a nearly five-year hiatus following their supposedly last-ever performance together at Ultra 2013.

The intersection of the event's special anniversary, its unparalleled slate of scheduled talent and unbelievable roster of surprise guests led Ultra to once again take the crown as No. 1 trending topic on worldwide social platforms over the weekend for the fifth year in a row. In addition, the festival's extensive advance communication and collaboration with local, state and federal authorities helped pave the way for a collective execution of security and safety measures that was categorized by EDMTunes as, "the safest Ultra Music Festival ever."

Attendees still buzzing from this year's massive intersection of dance music and culture – as well as the untold millions still working to get over their post-festival F.O.M.O. – need not fear the long interim between now and next year's Ultra, as the dates are officially confirmed for their 21st installment: March 29 – 31, 2019. Mark your calendars now!

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