Bunnings Warehouse announce location of three-hour car park ‘rave’ featuring ‘the best Aussie talent available’

Bunnings Warehouse has announced it will host a long-awaited warehouse party at one of its stores in Melbourne on Saturday, August 31. 

Electronic music duo Peking Duk, who are headlining the event, made the announcement on behalf of the hardware retailer on Wednesday. 

‘The Bunnings Rave is confirmed’ they announced. ‘The line up’s going to have some of the best Aussie talent available, including the guy that started everything.’

Peking Duk frontmen Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles said they’ll be taking to the stage alongside electronic music producer What So Not.

Kalia NayNay also known as the Sydney teenager who first pitched the idea on TikTok with a creative EDM remix of the Bunnings Warehouse jingle, will be performing alongside them, with Bunnings worker DJ Lottie rounding out the line up. 

The official Bunnings Warehouse Party, as it’s been dubbed by organisers, will take place on Saturday, August 31 at the Bunnings Preston car park in north Melbourne. 

The three-hour event will be ‘an alcohol free environment with a focus on celebrating the local music community’ and run from 5.30pm until 8.30pm. However, there will be a designated ‘kick ons‘ with a second location still to be announced.

‘It’s a 16+ dry event because Bunnings is for everyone,’ Hyde said in the announcement video shared to TikTok on Wednesday.  ‘But if you want to kick on with us, there’s a separate event on afterwards.’ 

Organisers have promised ‘all the Bunnings favourites’ will be there on the night, including an employee-run sausage sizzle, face painting, and branded merchandise. 

Tickets will cost $30, with the headlining musicians offering their time and art for free.

All funds raised through ticket sales and the sausage sizzle will go to Support Act – an organisation that ‘provides crisis relief, mental health and wellbeing support to people in the music industry.’

‘Bunnings Warehouse Preston’s carpark will set the stage for a 3-hour ticketed community event to celebrate and support live Aussie music, featuring Peking Duk, What So Not, Kalia, NayNay and our very own Bunnings Team Member and DJ, Lottie,’ a statement read.

The Bunnings Warehouse Party event follows significant community feedback, which called on the hardware giant to host a live music event to aid the struggling local music industry.

‘Bunnings has loved seeing Aussie music lovers across the country share their enthusiasm for a Bunnings rave to support local music acts,’ the announcement continued.

‘Bunnings is excited that together with Peking Duk, What So Not and Kaila, we’ve found a way to give the people what they want – the Bunnings Warehouse Party.’ 

‘This is an event asked for by the people and we’re pleased to be able to make this a reality in a safe and fun way that is all about the music,’ it concluded.

In April, 19-year-old Kalia hilariously remixed the Bunnings theme tune with a hard-hitting beat, calling on Aussie electronic acts What So Not and Peking Duk to headline a rave at the hardware store.

The Sydney teenager, who will join his mentors as a co-headliner at the party he willed into existence, went viral on TikTok.

By June, the BunningsRave hashtag had received over 1 million views and was being talked about throughout Australia.

Electronic hitmaker What So Not jumped on board, sharing the video with the caption ‘MAKE THIS HAPPEN’ on his Instagram, which has been viewed more than one million times.

The official Bunnings page replied: ‘We’ll bring the decks,’ with a string of eyeball emojis.

What So Not, the stage name of Chris Emerson, has been a driving force behind the event.

The Sydney-born DJ from Dee Why, who recently completed his Dance Dance Revival Australian tour, has been backing Aussie talent and grass-roots events for years. 

In an interview shared to his Instagram, he was asked why he does it and said: ‘Going to the small club and hearing the weird thing that local people are doing and the interesting act that got booked from overseas? That IS IT’. 

‘Weirdly, I’ve always done it. And the reason I do it is because it’s so fun! And it’s so fulfilling, and you meet really cool people. You become inspired and you find cool new artists. This is what we came here from.’ 

What So Not has lived a nomadic touring existence for the past decade, playing huge festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza, but his mission has always been building a thriving music scene at home.

‘It’s just a win,’ he explained. ‘That’s the best stuff. I can’t fault it. It’s awesome, it’s fun. It helps everyone.

‘I’m talking right now because Australia’s just lost all these huge festivals. There are all these acts saying, “that was my income for the year”.’

It comes as Byron Bay music festival announced on Wednesday that its four-day event starting April 17, 2025, will be its ‘final curtain call’, following the cancellations of tent pole Australian festivals Splendour in the Grass, Groove in the Moo, Beyond the Valley, and Spilt Milk earlier this year.