Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler

Entertainment Executive | Producer | Former Radio Personality
Director of Entertainment @whlmidtown
Music • Nightlife • AI
☘️✝️ Proud ND Cheer Dad

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Hi, I’m Rich Pangilinan aka DJ Riddler

Over the past 30+ years I’ve worked in radio, record labels, music production, nightlife, and live entertainment.

Today I’m the Director of Entertainment at Warehouse Live Midtown.

Here I share thoughts on music, entertainment, marketing, AI, and the future of live events.

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Had a great time at the #Hotwheelslegend tour in Houston with @djrennermusic in the mix. See you next Saturday in Dallas

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

I didn’t choose to become a DJ.

A cassette tape chose for me.

Summer of 1987. 16 years old. Visiting my cousins in Chicago.

My cousin Cheryl played me Move Your Body by Marshall Jefferson on a silver boombox.

I thought it was Disco.

She said no. It’s called House Music.

She gave me the cassette tape recorded off WBMX Chicago.

That tape introduced me to Bad Boy Bill.

My idol. My peer seven years later. My friend to this day.

My cousin John had turntables in his basement.

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Two Saturdays ago we had 826 tickets sold for Tom Kiefer of Cinderella at Warehouse Live Midtown.

Then my phone lit up.

Tom Kiefer had a medical emergency before the show. He was being transported to the emergency room.

Here’s exactly how we handled it. 🎙️

The MC made an unauthorized announcement from the stage offering refunds.

Our policy — No Refunds. Lineup Subject to Change.

That promise wasn’t his to make.

I waited until the next morning to respond.

Because reactive crisis communication makes things worse.

Three emails. Three days. Complete transparency at every step.

225 refund requests honored out of 826 tickets sold.

Did our policy require us to honor them? Technically no.

Did we honor them anyway? Yes.

Because sometimes doing right by your audience matters more than being right about your policy.

Tom is recovering. August 3rd is going to be a great show.

After 30 years in live entertainment the lesson is always the same.

Transparency and speed. Every time. 🎙️

#liveevents #venuemanagement #crisismanagement #eventpromoter #djriddler

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

The only way to watch the World Cup IMO

[Telemundo Deportes @TelemundoSports]

¡¡¡GOLAAAAAZO DE ARGENTINA!!! ¡¡¡GOLAAAZO DE LIONEL ANDRÉS MESSI!!! ¡¡¡APARECIÓ EL 10!!!

¡TREMENDO GOLAZO! Firma un zurdazo dentro del área para empatar el duelo ante Egipto.

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Messi 🐐

[FanDuel @FanDuel]

PLEASE LISTEN TO THE TELEMUNDO CALL OF MESSI'S GAME-TYING GOAL 🗣️

#FIFAWorldCup | #Argentina

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

@FanDuel Messi 🐐

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

@BleacherReport @FOXSports Messi is the 🐐

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Six weeks ago I started posting consistently for the first time in my career.

Here's exactly what the data showed me — numbers included. 📊

My Tommy Boy Records story got 13,400 views on Instagram.

My Oliver Heldens backstage interview? 1,281 views.

Less than 20% of my best post.

The lesson — my audience doesn't want to hear from artists. They want to hear from me.

Some content builds audience size. Some builds audience depth.

Both matter. They're just different.

83 new Instagram followers. 90 new TikTok followers after six weeks.

Modest growth. But 13,400 people watched my Tommy Boy story.

Authenticity wins every time.

Nobody wants the highlight reel anymore. They want the real story.

35 years of career experience is content.

You just have to be willing to tell it honestly. 🎙️

#contentcreator #personalbranding #djriddler #musicindustry #liveevents

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

World Cup matches are over in Houston. Next weekend Dream-con. Guess the party continues 🎉

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Happy Sunday! At @heb and their music playlist this morning got me dancing. I heard so far
Debbie Deb - Lookout Weekend
Kris Kross - Jump
Reel 2 Reel - I Like To Move It
Boys II Men - Motown Philly

All songs I used to play in the clubs back in the day 🕺

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Happy 4th Of July America 🇺🇸 Celebrating 250 years of the greatest country in the world 🦅

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Found this DJ set I recorded live from The Surf Club (Jersey Shore) on July 3, 2005. Get ready to Fist Pump 💪💪💪 Shout out to MC Vinnie T on the mic 🎤 Check it out and enjoy!

https://t.co/cPI27cDJMx

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Here In 2011 a Dutch DJ named @r3hab introduced me to an unknown producer from Germany.

You know him as @zedd 🎵

I put him on SiriusXM BPM that same month.

First time on North American radio.

Big in Europe. Just getting started in America.

Two years later I was opening for him at House of Blues Houston. My name was on the official flyer right under his.

Four years later we took a photo together backstage at Z100 Jingle Ball in New York.

He had won a Grammy by then.

The relationship with R3hab that made all of this possible started right here in Houston. A casual meeting in 2011 that turned into dinners, shows, and a friendship that’s lasted over a decade.

I didn’t discover Zedd. R3hab introduced me.

I didn’t make Zedd famous. His music did that.

What I did was trust my ear before the world agreed.

That’s the job.

Not just playing what’s popular. Playing what’s next.

Trust your ear. The data catches up eventually. 🎙️

Full story with the actual email receipts on my blog — link in bio.

#zedd #r3hab #siriusxmbpm #djriddler #houston

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

In 2009 a DJ named Nick G sent me a three line email asking for a 30 minute mix.
Needed it by that night.
I said yes.
15 years later I’m still doing that show.
@ghettohouse — 1,000 episodes. @Wild949 San Francisco. About a dozen stations nationwide.
Around that same time I had my own show on SiriusXM BPM.
I was the first person in North America to put Zedd and R3hab on the air.
Big in Europe. Just getting started in America.
Zedd won a Grammy. R3hab became one of the most streamed artists in the world.
I just knew the music was good.
Full Zedd and R3hab story dropping Friday. I have the emails to prove it. 🎙️
#ghettohouseratio #djriddler #siriusxmbpm #zedd #r3hab #housemusic #edm #radioshow #kyld #houston #musicindustry

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

What an incredible ending! Morocco 🇲🇦 knocking out Netherlands 🇳🇱 in the penalty shootout 🤯

Houston gets Morocco vs Canada this Saturday. Who do you got?

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Everyone said the World Cup would be like the Super Bowl for Houston businesses.

It wasn’t. At least not for everyone.

Road closures. FIFA Clean Zone restrictions. Visitors arriving later than expected.

Same venue. Different timing. Completely different result.

The boom is real. Just not evenly distributed. ⚽🤠

#worldcup2026 #houston #warehouselivemidtown #djriddler #liveevents

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

@sophaller Memes are forever 👉

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Me when someone says Dallas is better than Houston

[Warehouse Live Midtown @WHLMidtown]

Pointing at everyone who waited too long and it sold out. 😅 Don’t be that person! Get your tickets now at https://t.co/r5EbPEeFAE

[Rich Pangilinan | DJ Riddler @djriddler]

Something happened at our Oliver Heldens show last Friday that nobody expected.
He heard El Sonidito at the Netherlands game in Dallas. Made his own remix overnight. Chose Houston as the first city to hear it live.
His own words — “I just had to make a remix of it for my show in Houston.”
Houston was first. 🇳🇱🇲🇽🤠
#oliverheldens #worldcup2026 #houston #warehouselivemidtown #djriddler