The live music scene in Australia is struggling.

With hangovers caused by the ravages of the pandemic and the rising cost of living, more artists are struggling to justify the cost of touring. And everyone in the industry feels it. APRA AMCOS reported In 2023, since the start of the pandemic, more than 1,300 concert halls and stages across Australia have closed their doors.

On top of that, we’re seeing historic festivals – once the backbone of the country’s music scene – fall by the wayside. Splendor in the Grass, Spilled Milk and Groovin’ The Moo are just a few of the once-legendary names who haven’t been able to perform this year, and the festival calendar seems almost completely barren.

Festivals and live music played a very formative role in my late teens and early twenties. I remember coming across a (then) small Melbourne band called Northeast Party House supporting The Jungle Giants at the (now closed) Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle when I was 18, and the obsession was swift and unwavering. Over a decade later, I’m still obsessed and have watched them grow stronger and stronger.

It destroys me that young Australians are being deprived of the same experiences. Whether they can’t afford it, don’t want it, or have nowhere to experience it, the magic of live music is no longer a priority here, so that she was once so full of life.

So imagine my surprise when the audience showed a vested interest in a rave at… Bunnings Warehouse.

The idea was, perhaps jokingly, first floated by producer Kaila, who remixed Bunnings’ iconic jingle.

Producers from all over the country, like Peking Duk, and even the Bunnings social media account itself were there. Cut to this month, the rave is confirmed to take place at Bunnings Preston, VIC on Saturday August 31st. And she’s completely sold.

Why is Bunnings Rave important?

But What So Not, real name Chris Emerson, was the biggest champion of the idea, and he talked to me about what the Bunnings rave is really about.

“It’s a gateway for mainstream media and brands to engage with the ‘Australian Dance Revival’,” says Emerson. Earlier this year, he announced his “Dance Dance Revival” tour, during which he endeavored to bring festival-style lineups to clubs across the country, including regional Australia which is feeling particularly hard the loss of live music.

“Not only shedding light on the dire state of the music industry, but also creating truly exciting IRL activations for young Australian musicians to perform and bring Australian audiences out of their homes, raving in iconic venues .”

When asked to describe his life working in the touring industry in one word, Emerson didn’t hesitate: “Exhausting.”

“We are at an impasse,” he said.

“Running a club right now by default is a ‘risk’ – if you’re not already closed – let alone trying to be bold with a line-up or touring with emerging and unproven international artists .

“Festivals are closing, skipping years and downsizing. Production costs are rising sharply, there is a shortage of qualified personnel as many have left and abandoned the industry due to COVID. Clubs and festivals have a hard time taking risks on cool new artists, but people aren’t excited about going to events because exciting new things aren’t booked and championed.

COVID-19 hangover persists

Unfortunately, COVID-19, which has hit live music particularly hard, continues to wreak havoc. Just last year, Wild Turkey conducted an investigation and found that 89% of aspiring Australian artists were struggling to pursue a music career and 73% were considering giving it up altogether. Many people whose livelihoods were impacted by the pandemic never returned to work, according to Emerson.

“There has been a mass exodus from the industry,” he says. “People just couldn’t afford to stay in music, production, events, management and agencies. So they left and never came back.

But, inspired by the pandemic, Emerson also notes that we’ve lost an entire “clubbing generation” simply because those who could have gone clubbing during the pandemic couldn’t.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t know how to ‘be’ in a club, a mosh pit, camping in the mud and enjoying it. Nightlife has always been an escape from youthful, anxious nihilism while you figure out who you are and what you want to be in life – sometimes the only glimmer of hope and euphoria among all the bullshit and uncertainty.

“I think people have lost touch with that avenue and I’m not sure they find it anywhere else.”

Bunnings Rave doesn’t need to be a meme

But if they were looking for him, Bunnings answered their call. Emerson refutes the idea that this is just a meme, but even if it were, the ends might still justify the means.

“(On the Dance Dance Revival Tour) I was inspired musically by these people, made so many new friends, and we reinvigorated the music community from the ground up in all their local towns.,” said Emerson.

“The positive roll-on effect has been insane; young artists are making their first radio plays, headlining their own local events, doing their first interstate shows and some of the world’s biggest international DJs are now playing their tracks. I once again see caring people who had lost hope and young artists knowing that their dreams are not so far out of reach.

One thing that seems clear is that Bunnings Rave is an example of the live music industry meeting audiences where they are. A different angle, a clear point of view and the incorporation of brands made the event a success.

But will there be more? Emerson doesn’t see why.

“Imagine all the fun you could have with that?” Afternoon pop-up and a hang before going to the club or another concert. I’m absolutely into this.

It’s this imagination that led to Bunnings Rave, and we now live in a time where traditional ways of putting on a concert or festival aren’t always feasible. It’s time to turn to the ridiculous, the ridiculous and the fun.

As What So Not says: “Life is complicated, dive into it head first. »

This item originally appeared on The Latch and has been republished with permission.