Penn State students flooded the HUB lawn on Friday for the Student Programming Association’s annual concert to kick off the semester, LightsUp.

The event started strong at 5 p.m. with inflatables, club tabling, and free swag. As more people found their way to the lawn, the line for airbrushed hats, Kona Ice, and henna wrapped around the growing group of students at the barricade.

The performances started with student artists Spencer Graham, Waterfowl Festival, and DJ Flatman. During the downtime between artists, DJ Flatman kept the vibes up with house music and remixed favorites. And, of course, there was a WE ARE thrown in there.

During the downtime between DJ Flatman and the opener, students erupted in multiple “We want Shaq” chants, which persisted throughout the night.

Before DJ Diesel (aka Shaq) took the stage, BETWEEN FRIENDS made their State College debut.

The music duo, comprised of two siblings, Brandon, 29, and Savannah Hudson, 27, was a finalist on America’s Got Talent. Now they get to rock the Penn State stage and see the power of a WE ARE chant.

They performed their songs “You & Me Time,” “BLOW,” “Smiley,” “Very Nice,” and “DJ.” During their set, a small group of students at the barricade started shouting, “We want Shaq.” This prompted the duo and their band to pause their music.

“Y’all realize that’s f***ing rude. We flew all the way out here for y’all. These guys ruined it for all of y’all.” The siblings told the crowd. Then, the lights dimmed on the stage, and Brandon Hudson walked off, followed by his sister.

The DJ came back to playing ’80s and ’90s music in the background to keep the crowd amped up while the event organizers figured out what to do.

Students took to Yik Yak to discuss the band; people were not happy with the group of chanters and got them kicked out of the event.

When the lights dimmed on stage, prompting a change in performer, the crowd went wild, and any students who had been inside the HUB came running out. Students in the crowd started singing the Penn State version of “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation.

Once DJ Diesel made his appearance at 8:40 p.m. with a remixed version of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer,” the crowd went wild.

“Are we ready, Penn State? I said, are we ready, Penn State?” Shaq shouted to the crowd. “Put those phones away, it’s time to party baby!”

“Who wanna come on stage with the Diesel?”

With the bass pumping throughout the HUB, and likely the entire campus, Penn State students jumped over anything in their way to flood the lawn and jump with the former NBA player.

He then continued into his next song, which sampled The Weeknd’s “Timeless.” Students were going crazy over the performance.

“Lemme see y’all go crazy in the back.” DJ Diesel called to the concertgoers, “Y’all wanna see me in the crowd with you?”

The song transitioned into his sampled “Somebody You Used To Know” by Gotye. Prompting DJ Diesel to ask Penn State to sing with him.

The set continued with a sample of Tinashe’s “No Broke Boys,” which O’Neal sang and Penn Staters sang along with.

To cater to the older folks in the crowd, as O’Neill said, “Sing this one too, I know you’re not tired. Old people too.” As “Livin’ On a Prayer” by Bon Jovi began to play.

“Where is my mosh pit? Where is my mosh pit?” O’Neal asked the crowd, hands pumping in the air to bring the hype to the barricade and beyond.

“Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey began to play, and O’Neal encouraged the students to use their singing voices with him.

“I love your voice, Penn State, c’mon you know this one.” He called before singing along himself.

“If you love Penn State, make some noise.” Was followed by a roar of cheers from the lawn to the patio of the HUB.

The former NBA player is known far and wide, as evidenced by the number of parents, middle schoolers, and even toddlers present at the event, all excited to party with Shaquille O’Neal.

Encouraging the Penn Staters to continue to show up and show out for his set, O’Neal called to the crowd, “Let me hear your singing voice, and let me see your middle fingers up for Ohio State.”

Alongside the song “The Days” by Chrystal, O’Neal started a call-back chant in beat with the song, “Ohio State?” to which the crowd of proud Penn Staters replied, “Sucks!”

Encouraging the students to party even harder, Shaq chanted “Mosh pit!” before telling the crowd over the song “Low” by Flo Rida, “If y’all wanna see me in that mosh pit, you better open it up.”

The crowd only grew as his set went on, with students calling it “Penn State’s Lollapalooza.”

While the EDM continued to blare, Shaq told security, “If they wanna come up, they can come up one at a time.” Allowing students to come up.

Students in the front who were too eager pushed forward through the barricade, causing DJ Diesel to pause the music, warning everyone, “If I let you up, you can come up; don’t ruin the show. Am I at Penn State or Ohio State?”

As the set continued, DJ Diesel continued with a sample of the Michael Myers theme song into “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes, which is played at every home Penn State football game. DJ Diesel came in knowing his crowd.

The songs quieted as O’Neal said, “Did I just see somebody flip in the mosh pit? Lemme see it again!”

With a song for the ladies, DJ Diesel sampled “Without Me” by Halsey, telling all the ladies to sing their hearts out. With a strong stage presence, whenever he asked the crowd to jump, a sea of Penn Staters jumped.

When the sample of “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO came on, O’Neal made sure the hype carried throughout the entire crowd. “Hands up on that hill, I see you, hands up on that god damn hill.”

“I love you, Penn State. This is my first time here, and I love you guys.” O’Neal told the crowd as “Beauty and the Beat” by Justin Bieber began.

“Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry was the next song on O’Neal’s DJ set, and students came up on stage to sing it with him, getting their chance to solo when he quieted the music to give them their time to shine.

His encouragement of a mosh pit only continued as Ke$ha blared through the speakers. “Can I see an all-ladies mosh pit? Ladies only!” He called to the crowd.

Later on in the set, he started a shirt toss, letting the crowd know that “One of these shirts has $10,000.”

As hits by Rihanna played, O’Neal had to let Penn State know one more time to put their hands up. “I f***ing love y’all, Penn State. You guys f***ing rock, no one does it like y’all.”

For the end of his performance, he sampled “All of the Lights” by Kanye West. Letting the Penn State crowd know, “I f***ing love you guys, Penn State.”

Needless to say, people were hype for the Lights Up headliner choice for 2026.