Houston DJ Athenz Dazzles FIFA World Cup 2026 Crowds

DJ Athenz is familiar to Houston crowds. She was the OutSmart Gayest & Greatest Readers’ Choice Award Favorite Female DJ winner in 2021 and took home Favorite Music Producer honors in 2025.  Working as a DJ for more than 15 years, she’s worked for large stadium audiences, but her current audience, the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Houston, might be the largest she’s ever worked. She’s the official DJ for the Michelob Ultra Activation Zone for seven 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at the newly branded Houston Stadium.

OutSmart: First of all, congratulations. Oh my god, what a gig! You must have been so excited when you got this news.
DJ Athenz: Yeah, it almost felt like it just wasn’t real. I was like, I can’t believe this is happening. It still doesn’t feel real. Even when I’m in it, it doesn’t feel real.

What has it been like so far?
So far, I’ve done two games. And so two down and five more to go. It has been an incredible experience. I’ve done a lot of cool things in my career, but for something that’s on the level of the FIFA World Cup, it’s just completely out of this world.

So for this, for the first game, it was about 68,000 people. You know, I’m not quite sure if I would honestly say that’s the most people I ever played for. I did two seasons with the [NFL’s] Houston Texans, and I was the official DJ wired into the stadium, controlling every sound. Then I did the same with USA soccer, with the USA National Men’s and Women’s soccer teams.

I’m working with the biggest sponsor, Michelob Ultra, in partnership with FIFA. And so it’s basically just one big party where I’m playing, as the gates open, so three hours before kickoff, and then I’m playing post-game.

I mean, as soon as the gate opened, you could feel the excitement of the people. Everyone’s just rushing in. They’re excited. They want to grab a drink. The music’s going, and we’re getting the party started, building the vibe.

Post-game, everyone’s already just hyped up off the energy of the game. They come, and they just want to celebrate.

Tell me how you programmed your setlist. I can guess that you’re going to do some music from the countries playing that day.
Definitely. For every game, a few days before, I’m doing my research — what are the hottest artists from that country that I can incorporate into my set? And I want to make sure it fits my style. So I’m looking for the most upbeat, maybe top 40 or house music artists from that country that I can curate into my set. It’s been an experience because I’m learning so much about all these different countries.

How exhausted are you?
Well, on game days, there’s just so much of a rush, the exhilaration is so high that I don’t even know what’s going on. Everything moves so quickly. I mean, the energy, the people, and yeah, it’s just, it’s very fast-paced. And I have to say, there’s nothing like soccer fans. There is nothing like soccer fans.

After the game, I’m still running off the high, and I can’t believe this is happening. And then once I have that come down, holy crap. Then that’s when it’s like, okay, I’m tired.

People are coming from literally all over the world. You have to see that in the crowd.
I think that the most beautiful part is that Houston is already a melting pot of culture. We already have so many different cultures here. And so it’s like the World Cup is just magnifying that.

My favorite part so far has really just been connecting with and meeting all of these people who are traveling all over the world because of their love of the sport and their country. It’s just so beautiful to me that all these different cultures can come together. And whether their team wins or loses, the vibes are just so high — everyone’s happy no matter the result. It’s just one big party, and that’s what it feels like: a big celebration.

What’s next for you?
So the next game is this Saturday. It is the Netherlands versus Sweden, and that’s going to be a big one in the city because of all the Dutch. They’re all coming in here. They’re coming to Texas, nice and strong. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.

Also, aside from being on-site for all the live games in Houston, I will be at the watch parties at Levy Park. They’re having a big watch party for literally every game, so I’m gonna be playing at Levy Park all the way through July 19th — the whole experience.

For more info, visit Houston FIFA or AthenzMedia.com.