Upcoming Steve Aoki dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Who Steve Aoki is
Steve Aoki is an American DJ and record producer, born in Miami in 1977 and raised in Newport Beach, California, best known for high-energy electro house sets and a stage show that pulls the crowd into it. A ticket buys a DJ set (a continuous, live-blended mix of tracks) with a good chance of cake in the face for anyone near the front. He plays nightclubs, festival main stages and touring theater and arena dates.
Aoki founded the label Dim Mak Records in 1996, years before his own breakthrough, and it has released music by acts from Bloc Party to The Bloody Beetroots. His debut studio album, Wonderland (2012), earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronica Album. In 2012 Pollstar named him the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist on tour in North America for the first half of the year. He is the son of Rocky Aoki, the founder of the Benihana restaurant chain.
The collaborations behind the setlist
Aoki's catalog leans on crossovers, and many of the songs fans wait for involve artists from outside dance music:
- Linkin Park: "A Light That Never Comes" (2013) and "Darker Than Blood" (2015).
- BTS: a remix of "Mic Drop" (2017) and "Waste It on Me" (2018), BTS's first all-English single.
- Pop and rock crossovers: "I'm in the House" with will.i.am (2010), "Pretender" with AJR and Lil Yachty (2018) and "Let It Be Me" with the Backstreet Boys (2019).
- Albums: the Neon Future series (2014 to 2020), whose first part reached No. 1 on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and the Hiroquest series, most recently Hiroquest 3: Paragon (June 2025).
What a Steve Aoki show is like
Aoki is famous for crowd interaction that most DJs avoid. His sets have long featured crowd surfing, spraying champagne, riding inflatable rafts over the dance floor and throwing sheet cakes into the crowd. The energy is closer to a party than a listening session, and the music runs heavy on big drops, remixes and collaborations.
He is also one of the most active touring DJs. At his early-2010s peak he averaged about 250 shows a year; the spring 2012 Deadmeat Tour hit more than 55 cities in 60 days across the United States and Canada, and in 2014 he set a Guinness World Record for most traveled musician in one year, with 161 shows in 41 countries. He has won Electronic Dance Music Awards for best club DJ and for a favorite nightclub residency, and he lives in the Las Vegas area, where club dates are a regular part of his calendar.
Where to stand for a Steve Aoki set
For most DJs, the main question is sound. For Aoki, it is also how close you want to be to the cake. Check each event's map, since clubs, theaters and festivals differ.
- Front of the floor, center: the splash zone. This is where cake, champagne and crowd surfers land, and where the raft goes over. Come in clothes you do not mind ruining, and leave valuable phones and cameras secured.
- Middle of the floor near the sound desk: the best balance of sound, visuals and dancing room, close enough to see the antics without being part of them.
- Raised areas and club tables: a view over the crowd and personal space, sold separately from general entry at nightclubs. Many clubs, including most in Las Vegas, admit only guests 21 and over, so read the listing.
- Reserved seats in theaters and arenas: pick sections facing the stage. Side sections near the stage show the back of the booth and miss most of the interaction.
How demand for Steve Aoki tickets behaves
Because Aoki plays so many dates, demand depends on the type of event more than on scarcity of the artist.
- Holiday and event weekends run hot. New Year's Eve and festival weekends draw the strongest demand, along with Las Vegas club dates on holiday weekends.
- Club nights have small capacities. A nightclub holds a fraction of a theater's crowd, so a club date can sell through faster than a larger venue the same week.
- Festival tickets cover the whole event. A festival pass buys every set, and his set time is usually published close to the date. Early tiers sell first, with later inventory shifting to higher tiers and resale.
- College and tour markets. Through his career, campus-area and tour-bus dates have built much of his fan base, and those shows can sell quickly in smaller rooms.
Resale prices can sit above or below face value. GoodSeats backs every order with a 100% guarantee.
Practical notes
DJ sets in clubs start late and often run well past midnight, so plan the ride home. Venues set their own bag, age and hydration rules; check the venue's current policy before you go. If you plan to stand up front, bring a change of shirt.
Frequently asked questions
Does Steve Aoki still throw cake at shows?
Cake throwing has been a signature of his sets for years, along with crowd surfing and champagne spraying. Fans near the front center of the floor are the most likely to be hit.
Where should you stand at a Steve Aoki show to avoid the cake?
Stay back from the front rail. The middle of the floor near the sound desk keeps you close to the action with much less chance of cake or champagne.
Is Steve Aoki related to Benihana?
Yes. His father, Rocky Aoki, founded the Benihana restaurant chain.
What record label did Steve Aoki start?
He founded Dim Mak Records in 1996. The label has released his own music and work by many other electronic and indie acts.
Has Steve Aoki been nominated for a Grammy?
Yes. His debut studio album, Wonderland, was nominated for Best Dance/Electronica Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards.