This post was updated Sept. 24 at 9:28 p.m.

With multiple artist-audience interactions, Bruin Bash 2025 brought the shock factor.

On the last weekend before the start of fall quarter, students gathered at the Los Angeles Tennis Center for the annual start-of-the-year concert. Although students with bowl tickets stood closer together – as opposed to those on the floor who could stand in the back for a less crowded area – both sections of LATC made the best of the night, dancing and doing the wave in between sets. Cultural Affairs Commissioner Divine Trewick and Campus Events Commissioner Daniel Leal gave a quick speech welcoming students to this year’s Bruin Bash, thanking those involved in the monthslong organization process.

“We just want to welcome each and every one of you to Bruin Bash 2025,” Leal said. “We are so grateful to present this incredible event to you all – arguably the biggest show of the year.”

The stage’s simple setup consisted of a DJ table in the center, with a blue curtain background and overhead lights surrounding every angle. Continuing the touristy California, Hollywood-esque aesthetic, the stage screen showed the phrase “Greetings from Westwood” in a postcard style. While the audience waited for the show to begin, the event’s playlist kept students hyped with popular tunes such as the TikTok hit “Gnarly” by girl group KATSEYE.

[Related: Rappers Smino, BunnaB, Rob49 announced as 2025 Bruin Bash lineup, Rio Amor to DJ]

At 7:10 p.m., DJ Rio Amor took the stage, entering through a cloud of smoke and red lights. Opening her set with Playboi Carti’s “FOMDJ,” Amor entered the stage in a relaxed manner, crouching at the edge to interact with the audience. Amor’s set featured crowd favorites such as “WHIM WHAMIEE” by PLUTO AND YKNIECE and “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap, as well as an unreleased song by Lil Yachty introduced by Amor’s grandmother. The set ended with the DJ going into the floor crowd. Although Amor had some technical difficulties with song transitions, she embraced this by asking the audience to put all its energy into the set.

“Nevertheless, the show must go on,” Amor said. “So you guys got to promise me you’re going to go crazy for the next ones, okay? You promise?”

Leading up to opener BunnaB’s set, the stage lighting turned pink, with the rapper’s name on the screen. At 8:10 p.m., the rapper took the LATC stage, almost half an hour after Amor left. With the energy already high from the rapper’s brief DJ introduction set, the crowd went overboard with BunnaB’s performance, singing along and jumping throughout the entire 18-minute set. The “Ice Cream Girl” singer included hits such as “Innit,” “Mad Again” and “Bunna Summa” – which she played twice in a row, leaving students chanting her name as she left the stage.

Around 10 minutes later, the lights turned a turquoise shade. The intro of Rob49’s “WTHELLY” played as the artist walked in wearing sunglasses and a headscarf and began performing the first song of his set, “Wassam Baby,” his collaboration with Lil Wayne. The rapper’s set had a continuous flow when transitioning between songs, with short spoken introductions, along with an eagle sound effect at the beginning of each track. “Don Who Leo,” “WTHELLY” and “TOPIA TWINS” were some of the songs featured during the performance.

[Related: Rapper Doechii announced as Bruin Bash headliner, 310babii and thủy to open]

For the direct support’s last song, the rapper invited students whom he said he had noticed throughout the entire performance from the crowd to the stage. Nathaly Ortiz, a first-year Chicana and Chicano studies student, said her favorite part of the show was when the performers interacted with the crowd by going down onto the barricade. Still, she said she was surprised Rob49 invited people on stage.

“Put your camera light centered up for them right there,” Rob49 said. “This a once-in-a-lifetime thing for them. I want to make sure they have a good time.”

Headliner Smino took the stage at 9:15 p.m. Opening with his 2024 single “Polynesian,” he picked up the crowd’s energy that had somewhat dimmed during the 15-minute break. During his performance, Smino was able to showcase both his rapping and singing abilities.

Smino performed without a backing track for short instances, giving the audience the opportunity to appreciate the artist’s talent and duality. One of these moments happened during “Wild Irish Roses,” where Smino continued singing the song’s chorus after it concluded, while the crowd listened in silence. Still, the rapper encouraged students to sing this a cappella version with him, asking the crowd, “How many of y’all know y’all’s Spanish?” – a direct reference to the song’s chorus.

Smino continued the fan interaction trend present throughout the night. The artist played into the “who’s the loudest section” dynamic, asking the name of someone in the audience and having them deliver the verdict. As he closed the show with his second-most streamed song, “No L’s,” the Bruin Bash crowd began to disperse. With a quick goodbye, Smino abruptly put an end to the night at exactly 10 p.m.

“I got to go now, but for the record, I had a great … time with the Bruins,” Smino said.