On a recent Saturday at New York’s Gramercy Theatre, an EDM DJ plays thumping, loud remixes to ubiquitous songs. Glow sticks are thrown. Psychedelic imagery adorns the stage. The DJ skulks around the stage like a messianic cult leader commanding his flock.
Except it’s 1 p.m., not 1 a.m., the songs include theme songs of Paw Patrol and Spongebob Squarepants, and the target audience range in age from newborn to single digits.
Lenny Pearce is leading the “Toddler Techno” movement, a series of “baby raves” that has exploded in popularity over the past year. Pearce, who turned to DJing after leaving Aussie b-boy collective-turned-boy band Justice Crew, had been uploading his own electronic music to Soundcloud over the past few years. But it wasn’t until he began remixing nursery rhymes for his toddler and saw his remix to “Wheels on the Bus” go viral last year that he recognized an underserved market.
“She liked ‘The Wheels On the Bus’ and and all that,” Pearce told Billboard of his daughter. “With my creative mind I was thinking that I could remix these songs and put them on TikTok. And then it just started to take off from there.” A techno remix of “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” quickly exploded, followed by a remix of a Wiggles album entitled The Wiggles Soundsystem: Rave of Innocence, which hit Number One on the ARIA Australian Dance Albums Chart. (Pearce’s brother, John, is a member of the group.)
“[Millennial parents] like to be present with our children. We want to spend more time with our kids. We want to be the best parents we can be and guide them down the right path,” Pearce told the New York Post in April. “This is an event that parents can take their kids and enjoy as a whole, instead of just taking their kids and then just being bored, waiting until the show finishes.”
Following sold-out shows across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East, Pearce embarked on a U.S. run earlier this month, with most shows selling out within 15 minutes. Pearce released his debut album, Toddler Techno (Vol. 1) in March.
Now Pearce is expanding his movement this fall. A bigger, 31-date tour kicks off October 10 in Anaheim, California before criss-crossing the country through October and November. Tickets will be available starting Friday, June 20 at 10 a.m. local time at Live Nation.
Lenny Pearce ‘Toddler Techno’ Tour Dates
Oct 10 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues Anaheim
Oct 11 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Las Vegas
Oct 12 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA
Oct 13 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Oct 16 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
Oct 17 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
Oct 18 – New Orleans, LA @ Fillmore New Orleans
Oct 21 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
Oct 22 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
Oct 23 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues Orlando
Oct 25 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
Oct 26 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Oct 28 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
Oct 29 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
Oct 30 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
Nov 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia
Nov 2 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza Powered by 5G
Nov 4 – Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues Boston
Nov 6 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Nov 7 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
Nov 8 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cleveland
Nov 9 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
Nov 11 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave / Eagles Club
Nov 12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore Minneapolis
Nov 13 – Omaha, NE @ The Astro Theater
Nov 16 – Denver, CO @ The Ogden Theatre
Nov 19 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
Nov 20 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Nov 22 – San Francisco, CA @ The Midway
Nov 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
