The built-out garage of a hotel lobby was showered with purple and yellow lights as the first act of a three-set concert took center stage. Monday night, in Hotel Ziggy on the iconic Sunset Boulevard, a group of five music students turned their music industry project into a reality as their long-awaited and planned concert, Stardust Productions, came to life. 

“We threw a charity event through USC,” said Viktoria Ngo, the main marketing executive for Stardust Productions and a junior majoring in music industry. “We’re all in this class as a part of the music industry program, where you plan this show and the show goes to charity.”

Every music industry student at USC must complete a live music production and promotion class, and the keystone part of their grade in that class is holding a live music event. This specific group of students created Stardust Productions. 

The proceeds for the concert went towards Pasadena Humane, an organization that focuses on providing animal care in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The rest of the team members include Alan Lu, a junior majoring in music industry and music performance in tuba, Jessica Kao, a sophomore majoring in music industry, Raven Medina, a senior majoring in music industry and Emily Lin, a sophomore majoring in music industry. 

“I feel like we work pretty well together,” said Lu. “It’s pretty great working with them, they all communicate very well … It was great getting to meet them and work with them.”

Every detail about the show, even down to the cute aesthetics on their social media account, was carefully crafted to represent each team member and their work together.

“I had this idea of ‘everyone on our team draw out a star,’” said Ngo. “So, in our logo, it has five different stars, each of us drew out a star.”

The event boasted three artists, all based in L.A. The first set was Ilan, a DJ and electronic music producer. Keoni Usi, a musician and singer, and his band performed as the second set. Ebony Loren, a singer and songwriter, performed the third and final set.

“I met [Loren] at another concert that she performed at in February … and Usi I’ve known for almost a year,” said Lu. “I just wanna be able to put on a show for him.”

And put on a show they did. Considering how each act was given ample time to perform, warm up, and mingle around the venue, these students clearly cared about making everybody comfortable, on and off the stage.

“I just want [the artists] to have fun,” said Ngo. “I know all these artists who love performing, that’s why they do what they do. I just want them to have fun, be able to find new listeners and new fans. That’s the beauty of concerts and showcases like this, where it’s more of an artist showcase with multiple people rather than someone’s headlining show.”

The artists were certainly talented, and the fact that this concert was in a small venue with a limited audience only highlighted the resonance of their sound. Not to mention, the closeness let the audience get to know them and their entertainment value more intimately. 

“I hope [the audience] can appreciate smaller-scale concerts as well for live music,” said Lu. “Just having the audience learn to enjoy live music and … even though big stadium concerts are really fun, these smaller, intimate sets are where everyone starts and supporting these kinds of artists is great.”

The crowd was very interested in the music. Talking among themselves, they clapped and cheered for each artist and vibed out to the music.

“The performers were all very talented,” said Aiden Ho, a sophomore studying accounting and finance. “This concert exposed me to more indie artists, and I’ve grown to appreciate it more, and I’ll definitely be listening more.”

The concert itself tested various skills of the music industry students, giving them an abundance of opportunities to grow as apprentices of their craft and as professionals in their chosen industry.

“I love working in music and I love working with artists and working with artists to bring their creative visions to life,” said Ngo. “It’s what makes me the happiest. I see myself doing this in the long run.”

Despite some hindrances, the concert was still a joyous success, with people leaving the hotel lobby with new songs on their playlists and new artists saved on their phones.

“I remember how my first concert was, and just being in this kind of environment really brought me a lot of joy and happiness,” said Lu. “I want to be able to bring that to other people as well.”