Industry Insiiide: Raindance… Cultural Labour and the Fight Against “Beige”
From illegal bush doofs to full-scale commercial festivals, Jonathan Moreno is on a mission to bring sound system culture back to the city… even if it means taking a hit to do it.
Jonathan Moreno has been involved in the outdoor rave scene for over half his life.
Cutting his teeth at 17 working at the legendary Shape Bar during the “Big Ape and Switch days,” he was already taking weekends off to host illegal bush doofs. Today, as the festival director of Raindance, he is spearheading a movement to drag that raw, underground sound system culture back into the light.
But making that transition from illegal parties to fully above-board festivals is a brutal reality check. “We now pay more for security and venue hire than we ever spent on an illegal party,” Jonathan admits.
We sat down with the Raindance director to discuss the legendary blood moon that gave the festival its name, the logistical nightmare of burying cables under a dancefloor, and why Perth’s major promoters need to stop suffocating the scene with “beige” lineups.
🩸 The Blood Moon Omen
For two or three years, every single outdoor event Jonathan’s crew threw got rained out. “We had thunderstorms on Australia Day!” he laughs. “People were having makeshift boat races down the rivers running across site. It was madness.”
As a tongue-in-cheek nod, they decided to throw an event called Raindance right in the middle of the wet season. They scraped their money together for a stretch tent and told everyone to prepare for the worst.
It was the first weekend in nearly three years that it didn’t rain.
“We booked the exact same date one year in advance… the weather was perfect, and unbeknownst to us, that Saturday night was a blood moon lunar eclipse,” he recalls. “Ever since then, it’s been a good omen.”
🛑 Fighting the “Beige” Wave
Raindance thrives on niche programming, deliberately booking acts that cater to the “neurospicy/ADHD crowd that wants constant changes and big drops,” rather than steady, 12-hour techno loops. They pride themselves on booking mid-tier interstate tastemakers over viral TikTok DJs.
This leads to Jonathan’s most controversial take on the current state of the industry.
“Our Perth scene is white-washed at the moment. The same headline acts, playing the same ‘beige’ flavoured bangers,” he points out, noting that the same six or seven safe bets dominate lineups year-round. “I do wish some of the bigger players would take their foot off the gas for a little bit so that up-and-coming promoters can take risks… without fear of their shows being stepped on two to three weeks out by a bigger entity.”
💸 The Cost of “Cultural Labour”
Between the annual outdoor festival, Raindance regularly gets offered touring acts. Even though these indoor club shows often run at a financial loss, Jonathan views them as essential “cultural labour.”
“These acts need to play shows in Perth. If they don’t, the scene won’t grow,” he explains. “Although they aren’t always winners, for the people that love it… we’re the only ones brave or dumb enough to do it!”
⛏️ The Tupperware Boiler Room
Taking risks inevitably leads to logistical chaos. For the last two years, Raindance has converted its second stage into a late-night boiler room once the headliners finish.
The catch? The audio and power cables are buried in a Chinese Tupperware container underneath the dancefloor.
“Digging up audio and power cables… after 48 hours of people dancing on it is a logistical nightmare!” Jonathan laughs. “Watching some of the punters’ faces as three people in hi-vis dig little holes in the ground clearly looking for something is pure hilarity. Then, when they watched us set up a DJ booth in the middle of the dancefloor and start passing CDJs out of the booth, shock turned into horror!”
⚡ Jonathan Moreno Quickfire
| Category | Answer |
| Origin of the Name | A tongue-in-cheek joke after years of rained-out events that turned into a blood moon omen. |
| Favourite Venues (Perth) | Port Beach / Freo Social. |
| Favourite Artist to Book | K+lab. “Dude’s a genius.” |
| Dream Event Concept | The grittiest, dingiest underground car park rave. |
| Vibe Killer | Poorly curated lineups booked to sell tickets rather than curate a vibe. |
| Analog vs. Digital | Digital. “Analog has a firm skill ceiling, digital opens a new world of possibilities.” |
| Most Memorable Crowd | When the entire dancefloor sat down and started a rowboat. |
🔌 Pass the Aux
We ask every feature guest to answer a question left by the previous interviewee.
Incoming Question from Lick’n’Beat:
“If you could create a night where anything is possible, what would it look like?”
Jonathan:
“The grittiest, dingiest, most banging underground rave you can imagine. I’ve actually been calling commercial realtors and trying to bribe them to let us use an underground car park under a vacant office… turns out you need big $ to bribe realtors haha.”
Outgoing Question for the Next Promoter:
“Name the moment you knew this is what you wanted to do.”
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