With dance, EDM and house music topping the charts, CSUN Associated Students embraced the trend with this year’s Big Show. The University Library Lawn was transformed into a rave festival with headliner Steve Aoki on Saturday afternoon, April 6.
When the gates opened, thousands of students flooded the Sierra Quad, enjoying free McDonalds smoothies and Rockstar energy drinks. A food truck and lawn games such as giant Connect Four, inflatable basketball, an obstacle course and “trashcan pong” (like beer pong, but with trashcans and volleyballs) entertained Matadors and their guests for hours.
In the crowd were kinesiology junior Jose Castillon and mechanical engineering freshman Ashley Babb, both experiencing Big Show for the first time.
“This is my first [big] event at CSUN. Coming with my friends and having the opportunity to meet new people is the most important thing about college, so I am very excited,” said Castillon, a transfer student.
For Babb, in her first year of college, it was all new. “I’ve never been to a concert [hosted] by my school,” she said.
Around 3:00 p.m., DJ Had0 and CSUN alum DJ Raz Davidov got the party started with electric performances, and the crowd grew, anticipating Aoki’s arrival.
Aoki, a Japanese American DJ and music producer, is known for his remix of “Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi and his feature on “Mic Drop” by BTS. Students were eager to witness his iconic tradition of throwing sheet cakes into the audience — also known as “cake face” — firsthand.
As the sun set, global supply chain major and graduating senior Oscar Montiel was one of many students waiting for Aoki’s trademark cake toss.
“If it was up to me, I would definitely want to be caked,” he said.
Aoki took the stage, delivering a high-energy, two-hour set and performing all of his hits, even shouting, “Come on, CSUN!” to rev up the crowd. Ten minutes before the show’s end, the opening bars of his song “Cake Face” played. Matadors knew what to do: Dozens climbed on each other’s shoulders, the perfect strategy to get caked.
As he hurled multiple sheet cakes into the crowd, vanilla frosting flew everywhere, spreading the cake love and giving many students a (partial) cake-face moment.
The rave ended with thousands of giggling guests covered in frosting, headed home to wash off and share photos. Many students, such as public relations junior Khandra Gutierrez, already had started planning for Big Show ’25.
“It was so fun,” Gutierrez said. “I can’t wait for next year’s — I’ll definitely be back.”
