House and electronic dance music (EDM) music artist Disco Lines, whose real name is Thadeus Francis Labuszewski, is one of many artists bringing house and EDM to Gen-Z audiences. Along with John Summit, Acraze, Fisher, It’s Murph and Loud Luxury, Disco Lines joins artists like John Summit, Acraze and Fisher in representing the next wave of talent for this generation.
House music is a form of EDM characterized by a steady cadence and four-on-the-floor beat. Most house music rests between 120 and 130 beats per minute, and elements like hand claps and pulsing beats contribute to its high-energy vibe.
Last fall, house music artists Acraze and Loud Luxury performed at USC’s frat row, allowing students to connect to a larger community of their peers in a relatively low-stakes environment.
“The DJs would come [to campus] because they’re trying to build a college age audience. I think there’s a resurgence of house shows coming up right now,” said Riley Patterson, a senior music industry major at USC. “People are trying to bring back an underground music culture and build a sense of community.”
Patterson said EDM has undergone notable transformations in the past decade, but the genre’s growing popularity on campus has been palpable. Patterson herself has a diverse creative background and enjoys alternative and eclectic music.
“...[Go] to a party on the row and they are primarily playing some variant of house,” Patterson said. “It’s interesting because pop house was pretty popular in the early 2010s and now stereotypical EDM, like classic EDM with no external influences, is making a huge comeback.”
Grant Pallokat, a house DJ and USC alum who received a degree in real estate, has fully transitioned into the house music space since his graduation in 2025.
His first release, a popular track called “Peace of Mind” integrated snippets from Kendrick Lamar’s “United in Grief,” truly launched his career and helped spur the track to over 1.3 million plays on Spotify.
“It was crazy. It was honestly very shocking just because I haven’t taken any classes in music,” Pallokat said in a conversation with Annenberg Media in 2024. “When I saw the reaction I was shocked to see that everyone just starts somewhere and then gets to wherever they’re at.”
“It doesn’t always have to be a big artist making a song that gets a good reaction,” he said.
According to the Berklee College of Music’s Business Journal, house music allows listeners to feel connected to a large community, “just as it did for its original audience in the 1980s.”
It also offers a lower price point and a less polished experience than most pop concerts.
“... [It’s] a lot cheaper in the economic state of the world to go to a house show than a concert,” said Patterson. “Obviously, EDM is very popular with [people] our age and, specifically within this school, it is very big.”
It’s Murph, another popular house music artist, was a USC music industry student.
Disco Lines is set to perform at Exposition Park’s South Lawn on May 2. Artists TOBEHONEST b2b MAESIC and Wes Mills are also set to perform that night, according to the official AXS website.