What So Not’s Bunnings Rave Is Getting Closer To Becoming A Reality

Just last month, we reported that 19-year-old producer Kalia had launched a petition to get What So Not and Peking Duk to host a rave at Bunnings Warehouse – with the full support of What So Not himself. Now we have an update on the mighty endeavour, and Kalia’s dream might just be about to come true.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph yesterday (July 8), What So Not (aka Chris Emerson) revealed he and Kalia had “just had our first official conversations with Bunnings” about making the rave an actual, legitimate event. He explained: “It took a lot longer than I thought because there is so much red tape about what can and cannot be done. All I can say for now is that we are all officially talking, which is a pretty big step forward.”

Emerson mentioned to the paper it’s a “community-supporting idea” he’s pushing to host, and said he’s hopeful Bunnings’ higher-ups will approve the concept: “We’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks, and yes there has to be a sausage sizzle.”

The hype train left the station after Kalia shared a killer remix of the Bunnings theme on TikTok last month, accompanied by his petition for the rave to happen. Emerson caught wind of it, and reposted the video imploring Bunnings to consider the pitch. Peking Duk also vouched their support, replying to the video, “Let’s do this.”

@kaila_music

Replying to @Bunnings the time has come for the most australian rave in history… lets set the date @Bunnings #newmusic #dnb #aussie #dj #viral #drumandbass #musicproducer #bunningswarehouse

♬ Bunnings Warehouse Kaila Remix - Kaila

Bunnings’ own TikTok account was quick to acknowledge the hype, commenting that they’d “bring the decks”. That, Emerson told The Daily Telegraph, was the moment that sparked hopes of the rave actually happening: “I would say the brains of the Bunnings executives went into chaos when this gained momentum,” he said.

One big roadblock for Emerson and Bunnings is the logistical factor, as the former noted, “We’re doing our best to soothe concerns and come up with a strategy of how to make this possible with the safety limitations that they have.” He’s suggested the potential of hosting the rave in a car park, or an old Bunnings location that no longer used as an operating warehouse.

In closing, he praised Kalia’s ingenuity with the original idea: “The lucky part of this is artists are the people who think outside the box. The old systems are broken, so let’s have some fun and try some things.”

Meanwhile, June also saw Emerson release the first new What So Not single for 2024, the Benson- and Lucy Lucy-assisted Lights Go Out. Have a listen to that below: