Shaq is coming to the Indy 500 Snake Pit, spinning records rather than slamming basketballs for the electronic dance music festival on race day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Located at a stage in Turn 3, the Snake Pit has drawn crowds of 30,000 attendees on Indy 500 race days since its 2017 inception.
In addition to NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, who is performing as “DJ Diesel,” this year’s EDM fest will be headlined by Grammy Award-nominated musician Kaskade (who also performed in 2015) and also feature Subtronics, John Summitt and Jauz.
The music will begin early in the morning -- well before the green flag for the 107th Indianapolis 500 (which will be broadcast on NBC) and continue throughout the race.
this is the party during the race. this is a lineup you can’t miss. THIS IS MAY.
— Indy 500 Snake Pit (@Indy500SnakePit) January 18, 2023
welcome to the #Indy500SnakePit presented by @CoorsLight! see y’all May 28!@kaskade @Subtronics @johnsummit @djdiesel @Jauzofficial
🎟 >>> https://t.co/RRiHoe4ens pic.twitter.com/clXDwhJy7f
“One of the biggest parties of race weekend is the Indy 500 Snake Pit presented by Coors Light,” IMS president J. Douglas Boles said in a release. “The always unforgettable and epic party in the Snake Pit is a May highlight for many of our fans and an experience like no other. Music fans won’t want to miss this incredible lineup.”
Known for his four NBA championships and current work as a studio analyst, O’Neal is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who also has been working in music entertainment for three decades.
The 7-1, 325-pound center became a rap fan after seeing a Public Enemy concert as a teenager. His debut album, “Shaq Diesel,” was released in 1993 and sold more than a million copies (becoming the first pro athlete as a platinum-selling recording artist).
O’Neal became an EDM fan at the TomorrowWorld festival in 2014, where he was exposed to past Snake Pit performers Steve Aoki and Skrillex. O’Neal began DJ’ing a the same festival in 2015.
General admission tickets to the Snake Pit are $50 ($155 VIP), and ticketholders must be at least 18 with a valid Indy 500 GA or reserved ticket.
The Indy 500 will be joined by Iowa Speedway with race-day concerts on the 2023 IndyCar Series schedule. For the second consecutive year, Iowa will feature a weekend doubleheader with prerace and postrace concerts for its July 21-23 weekend.