Lil Texas Raised the Bar for American Hard Dance in SF

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Lil Texas returned to San Francisco for a sold-out, electrifying night of hard dance music with Krowdexx, DEAD X, and more!

Back in December 2025, Lil Texas announced that he was embarking on a massive world tour, hitting major cities like Brooklyn, Toronto, Dallas, and more, in addition to festivals like Forbidden Kingdom. This isn’t new for the hardcore cowboy, but it’s still a major milestone for any American Hard Dance artist to be touring on such a massive scale.

Of course, this meant that he had to make his long-awaited return to San Francisco, and the city showed up and showed out for him once again at his sold-out stop at The Midway. I’ve made it clear that I’ll always catch a Lil Texas set, and this time was no different. What got me hooked even harder this time, however, was the insane lineup he brought along to support him.

Fans in attendance were treated to a masterclass in hard dance music, starting with beebo.

I can’t pretend like I was familiar with him beforehand, but beebo kicked off the night in style with a banging hard techno set. The All-American Boy, DEAD X, followed, and this performance perfectly captured the duality of brutality and fun.

DEAD X filled the venue with zaagkicks and rawstyle, which some fans might say is polarizing, but I thought it was the ultimate form of self-expression. He even played some slowtempo, which is still fairly new in the States, so it’s clear that he isn’t afraid to experiment. I personally just can’t wait until more hard dance DJs in America start adding more of the genre into their sets.

San Francisco was joined by a last-minute addition to the lineup in Shogun, but it couldn’t have been any more perfect, as he is one of the hottest names in the hard techno space. Despite the genre being his niche, his live sets span the entire spectrum of the harder styles.

Shogun threw in a bit of everything like reverse bass, hard techno, metal, hardcore, and straight-up hardstyle. It was my first time catching him perform, and I can confidently say that he lives up to the hype!

Up next were some very special guests, all the way from Italy, for their debut mini-tour in the US: Krowdexx!

I had seen Krowdexx in 2023, but I had to travel halfway around the world to Defqon.1 for it. When I heard that they were going to be in my backyard, I couldn’t miss it. This time, they delivered a set that still felt true to what they were doing years ago, but it was clear that there’s been an evolution to the project.

It’s always quite the treat when the US crowd gets a pure hardstyle set from artists at the top of the industry, and Krowdexx brought exactly that. Their set included classics like “ICONS,” viral hits like “HARDSTYLE IS BACK,” and some experimental records (for the US crowd, at least) like their slowtempo edit of “MOVE IT.” Artists like Krowdexx truly set the bar for what hard dance in America could be, and it’s only a matter of time until the scene follows in their footsteps.

We even had the chance to chat with Krowdexx very quickly to reflect on their US debut shows, and they were very happy with the result. “It was a totally new experience for us,” they said. “We didn’t know what to expect since it was our debut, and it was honestly amazing!” they told EDM Identity.

The vibe and the people were awesome, and the fact that it was sold out make us even happier. The crowd knew all of our songs as well which is crazy! We loved it and we can’t wait to be back!

Krowdexx

Before the night ended, it was time for the cowboy we all came out to see, Lil Texas!

In the past, Lil Texas had a very polarizing following, with fans either loving or hating his style, with no in-between. In recent years, however, he has gone from polarizing cowboy to the beloved face of hard dance in America. This couldn’t have been more obvious in his set in San Francisco.

For this set, Lil Texas catered to everyone, which highlights his evolution as an artist and DJ. He’s known as the hardcore cowboy, but his sets are extremely versatile. You’re as likely to hear rawstyle anthems like Dual Damage’s “Get Wrecked” as you are his viral hits like “Starships” or his latest hardcore releases like EQUAL2’s remix of “Rip City.”

What I think truly think sets Lil Texas apart, though, are the lineups that he curates. For the past two years, he’s brought along major US debuts, and this year it was Krowdexx. The most dedicated fans constantly clamor for these acts, and Lil Texas is slowly but surely creating the platform for it. Additionally, his openers consistently turn heads and are artists that fans should be watching.

Further, the “should the opener not go harder than the headliner” argument doesn’t exist at Lil Texas shows, which is unique to him. To borrow the words from a wise industry figure, “Promoters said that Lil Texas couldn’t be on the bill unless he toned it down, which forced him to become a headline act.”

This is on display at any of his shows, and I only hope that this ideology continues to be the root of his events. Maybe one day in the future, we’ll even be able to see Lil Texas at a sold-out Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco as a result.