{"id":2114975,"date":"2026-08-27T18:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2114975"},"modified":"2026-08-27T18:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:34:12","slug":"dance-up-and-comer-of-the-month-riordon-parlayed-a-job-in-influencer-marketing-into-a-fast-rising-dj-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2114975","title":{"rendered":"Dance Up-And-Comer of the Month Riordon Parlayed a Job in Influencer Marketing Into a Fast-Rising DJ Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Billboard-Riordon-2026-e1787854072121.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tRiordon knew he was on to something when he was first asked to play Coachella 2023. But the request didn\u2019t come through an agent or manager, and the performance wasn\u2019t actually at the festival.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tBillboard\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\u201cI had this millionaire reach out to me on TikTok\u201d Riordon says. \u201cHe was like, \u2018Yo, I throw the craziest Coachella afters every year. I\u2019ll fly you out if you want to come be the resident DJ for the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tNicole Kidman Says She’s Planning to See Ad\u00e9la Live in Nashville & The ‘Nicole Kidman’ Singer Is Freaking Out\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tJay Wheeler’s ‘De Lejitos’ Gets Up Close With No. 1 on Latin Airplay: ‘Fills Me With Great Pride’\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tHit-Boy Says He Hasn’t Spoken to Nas in 3 Years: ‘I Don’t See Us Working Again’\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tIt was the U.K. producer\u2019s first big gig. \u201cI hadn\u2019t even put out any like full sets at that point,\u201d he recalls. \u201cHe just told me that he likes seeing young people grinding, and he could see I was trying to make something of myself, and he saw some potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the then 19-year-old artist, the offer was a clear sign that the efforts he\u2019d been making \u2014 producing and posting tracks, along with remixes, photos, videos and other assorted social content \u2014 were breaking through. While \u201cyou can imagine how my mum felt when I told her this random guy with an NFT as his profile picture was gonna fly me out to America,\u201d says Riordon, he accepted the gig. Out in the SoCal desert, he spent the weekend playing for a crowd that included Wiz Khalifa and Logan Paul. <\/p>\n

\n\tTwo years later, Riordon returned to Coachella as part of the actual lineup, playing the festival\u2019s beloved Do Lab stage in April of 2025. This past April, he returned to play its Yuma Tent club space. This year he even secured one of the famous billboards located on the side of the interstate near the fest, with his jokingly proclaiming \u201cPronounced Riordon, Not Riordon.\u201d (The proper pronunciation of his name rhymes with \u201cJordan.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tThese shows are among the many highlights of Riordon\u2019s current rise, which also includes getting signed to Darkroom Records, home to artists including Billie Eilish and John Summit, a series of highly streamed releases including a Beatport No. 1, an upcoming Boiler Room set and tomorrow\u2019s release of his latest track \u201cFriction,\u201d a house\/UKG collab with London producer Locky.<\/p>\n

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Riordon\u2019s Boiler Room set in London<\/span>Sandra Nagel<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tRiordon grew up on the South Coast of England, with performance always part of his life. As a kid he had roles in traveling productions of shows including Oliver! <\/em>and planned to attend drama school with the goal of working in film and television. But when the pandemic hit and schools went virtual, his plans shifted too. Recalling a glorious party moment when he\u2019d grabbed the aux cord, played MK\u2019s 1993 track \u201cBurning\u201d and watched the room go crazy, he was interested in making dance music. As the world shut down during COVID, \u201cI ended up going all-in,\u201d he says. \u201cWith acting, it\u2019s hard to sit at home during COVID and take career steps, whereas with music I could actually make something happen for myself just from being at home and making tunes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe was simultaneously working at an influencer marketing company that works with musicians and record labels to get their music on TikTok. The gig was serendipitous, \u201cBecause I was essentially studying TikTok for my job every day,\u201d he says. \u201cI would search for musicians that we could try and get on the platform, and I saw how influencers were using music and going viral. Understanding social media was so crucial for my growth early on.\u201d Still living with his parents, he did this job by day and taught himself to DJ and produce at night.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn February of 2022, he quit the job to fully focus on music. His mom was supportive, his dad was less enthusiastic, but both could see that he treated his goal like a real career, living off his savings and working 9-to-5 and into the evenings to make something happen. Up until that point, Riordon had been releasing a lot of Latin house songs, finding them \u201ceasy to make.\u201d While these tracks were streaming fairly well, \u201cit wasn\u2019t the sound I wanted to be pursuing.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHis life during this period \u201cwas basically rinse and repeat,\u201d he says, \u201cmaking music, promoting it on TikTok and on socials, putting it out and trying to grow each record from the next.\u201d Then, the person who\u2019d become his manager reached out via TikTok, and they made an inspiring trip to Miami Music Week 2023. Then came the Coachella afterparty gig. A voyage to Chicago\u2019s ARC Music Festival in September of 2023 confirmed that he wanted to pursue house and tech house, an instinct that proved correct when his November 2023 track \u201cNeedle on the Record\u201d got signed to Gorgon City\u2019s Realm Records, got rinsed by \u201cDJs I looked up to,\u201d and hit No. 1 on Beatport\u2019s overall chart.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI remember going out for a walk and calling my mom and my dad,\u201d he says of getting the news of this Beatport No. 1. \u201cThat was the day when I felt like, \u2018I think I can actually do this for a career.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhy Riordon Is an Up-and-Coming Dance Artist\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tFrom here, the momentum ramped up significantly. In November of 2024, Riordon appeared with Gorgon City during their set at the U.K.\u2019s hallowed Drumsheds to play \u201cNeedle on the Record,\u201d toured and released music consistently during 2025 and continued putting numbers on the board this year. He says his February Raw Cuts performance with Silva Bumpa in New York felt particularly massive \u2014\u00a0and last month, he sold out the city\u2019s Knockdown Center. \u201cI love the New York crowd,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith a few Coachella sets already under belt, his goal now is to secure \u201ca big spot in the Sahara tent, hopefully maybe in a year or two.\u201d In the meantime, he plays the fashionable Solid Grooves party at DC10 in Ibiza tonight (Aug. 27) ,the U.K.\u2019s Reading Festival (where he had one of his early formative raving experiences as a teenager) tomorrow and the esteemed Creamfields festival on Saturday, with additional festival and headlining sets across Europe, the U.S. and New Zealand booked through the end of the year. <\/p>\n

\n\tGiven that both of his parents grew up raving, they\u2019ve been in the front row for many recent Riordon shows, with his dad flying to Chicago for his set at Lollapalooza earlier this month and his mom making at least one trip to Ibiza with him every summer. He says one of the major perks of playing out is just that it gives him and his family and friends a reason to get together. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve actually been seeing my cousins and stuff a lot more,\u201dhe says. \u201cWe may not have seen each other for a few months otherwise, but because I\u2019m playing something like Boiler Room and they all live around London, it\u2019s just an excuse for us to hang out and go get some food afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tBest Songs to Start With\t<\/h2>\n
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\n\tRiordon\u2019s breakthrough song, released by Gorgon City\u2019s Realm Records in November of 2023. <\/p>\n

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\n\tReleased by Insomniac Records in April of 2025, \u201cTWOSTEP\u201d is Riordon\u2019s highest-streaming song to date. <\/p>\n

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\n\tMade with Aluna, Danny P and Caleb Laurenson, Riordon\u2019s most recent release is a fresh take on AlunaGeorge\u2019s \u201cBest Be Believing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhat\u2019s Next for Riordon\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tAs his shows get bigger, Riordon and his team are building out a bigger live show to match. \u201cGoing into the new year, we\u2019re looking at the cities and venues where we can bring a proper Riordon party \u2014 production, lights, we\u2019re getting visuals made. We\u2019re really thinking about the show as a whole and trying to put on an experience for people that\u2019s more than just me plugging in in a dark room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile he flirts with the idea of making an album at some point down the line, he says right now he\u2019s \u201cnot in any rush to do it,\u201d with his current focus being just to \u201cput out singles and write stuff as I feel inspired.\u201d (He and his team recently got a sample from a big \u201990s song cleared, with the release of his track that uses it on the horizon.) Long-term, he says he\u2019s \u201cdefinitely interested\u201d in diving back into acting \u2014 but more than anything, right now it\u2019s about maintaining the dedication and passion that brought him from making music in his childhood bedroom to some of the world\u2019s most esteemed stages for dance music.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI want to be growing this as big as I possibly can, but keeping that spark and making sure the people listening and coming to the shows are there for the right reasons, because they genuinely love the music and share my passion for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tPast Billboard Up-and-Coming Dance Artists of the Month\t<\/h2>\n
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  • Tatyana Jane<\/li>\n
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  • Jigitz<\/li>\n
  • Ninajirachi<\/li>\n
  • Bambii<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    \"Billboard<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/riordon-dj-producer-up-and-coming-dance-artist-1236326330\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Billboard-Riordon-2026-e1787854072121.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard Riordon knew he was on to something when he was first asked to play Coachella 2023. But the request didn\u2019t come through an agent or manager, and the performance wasn\u2019t actually at the festival. Explore Billboard See latest videos, charts and news \u201cI had this millionaire reach out to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2114975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2114975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114975\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2114975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2114975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2114975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}