Last year, Rolling Stone crowned John Summit ‘the hottest name in house music.’
18 months later, the 31-year-old DJ is climbing even higher by curating Experts Only, which could very well be the hottest electronic music festival in New York City’s history. In doing so, the rapidly-rising headliner has unveiled another side of his artistry: daring business strategy and gentle leadership skills.
So, we asked him all about what he has planned for the two-day extravaganza.
In turn, Summit gave The Post the inside scoop on the inaugural, highly-anticipated festival, set to take over Randall’s Island on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21 with a jam-packed lineup, (including Summit, of course), state-of-the-art staging, interactive art installations, and up to 50,000 expected fans in attendance.
Some highlights from the lineup: BBC Radio host Pete Tong, whom John hails as “one of the most legendary selectors of this generation,” a live set from the enigmatic DJ duo Kasablanca, a back-to-back performance from Kaskade and Cassian, and a spotlight for the local favorite Tony Y Not. John’s longtime friend LP Giobbi will also be performing, blending her classical training on the keyboard with modern house beats.
Want to be there or see Summit live elsewhere?
Here’s where you can find the hard-working party-starter in the near future.
Experts Only Festival tickets 2025
All Experts Only Festival dates, start times and links to buy tickets are listed below.
John Summit tour schedule 2025
A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found here:
John Summit’s story
Six years ago, very few people had heard of John Summit. At the time, he was John Schuster, a University of Illinois graduate who worked as an accountant by day and spun records at local bars every other night. The DJ gigs weren’t about profit or ego; John says that they were “fully fueled by passion,” a drive that he believes helped shape his creative approach to making music.
After years of livestreaming and releasing his own music on SoundCloud, John’s breakthrough hit, “Deep End,” was picked up by Defected Records. Fans began to take notice, tour requests started rolling in, and his 9-to-5 quickly became a thing of the past. “The accounting job kind of gently let me go,” he jokes. Now John, who adopted the “Summit” alter ego from the mountains he loved skiing as a kid, is widely regarded as an expert in house music, a genre he admits is hard to put into words.
“House music is a feeling, and it truly has to be experienced,” he told me, smiling, when I asked him how we would explain the style to your grandparents. At its core, he says the music is built on a steady four-by-four beat and traces its roots back to disco — grandma should get that. Unlike their more in-your-face cousin, EDM, house music rolls a little slower, pulling listeners into a dream-like trance. John simply sums the sound up as “hypnotic bass music that just keeps you dancing all night.”
And house music’s effect on time and space should probably be a good thing, considering how many hours he spends behind the DJ deck. In the last week alone, John played at the LIV Nightclub in Las Vegas, iconic Burning Man desert event, Chicago’s Arc Festival, and ‘afters’ (the afterparty) at Radius.
When I ask him what he would tell John Summit of 2020 if he could go back in time, he brings me back to a moment during his stop in Black Rock City. He did two days without touching his phone “whatsoever.”
“This is going to sound crazy, but I was out in the middle of the desert, lying, staring at the stars and reflecting on it all, and it hit me big time…” John recalled. “I wouldn’t tell myself anything because he had to go through so many hardships and so many errors. I made so many mistakes. Textbook mistakes.”
Mistakes happen, but if there is anything I can tell from talking with John, it’s that he’s easy-going enough to stick along for the ride. He’s a regular guy, albeit living a life many aspiring DJs dream of. He didn’t formally study music or come up through the industry pipeline. Even many members of his team worked “normal jobs” before joining him. As a result, much of their journey has involved figuring things out the hard way and learning on the fly.
“I think the reason why we were able to be so successful is that we didn’t know any of the rules. We weren’t afraid of any of them,” he admitted. “I really pissed off some people along the way with how I was playing at certain parties but being creatively free is what helped get me where I am.”
Creative freedom was certainly part of it, though it’s hard to overlook another key factor in John Summit’s rise: his sharp business instincts. Summit built his career with a clear focus on longevity. It’s part of the reason why he takes his health so seriously (you’ll frequently find him posting screenshots of his Strava running app to his Instagram Story). Balance is very important to him in all aspects of life. “I’m not here for a short time, I’m here for a long time,” as he puts it.
“The skills of going to business school have saved me from a lot of things that end artists’ careers early,” he revealed. “You can have all the talent in the world but if you don’t know how to run a business, you don’t know how to manage your own finances, you don’t know how to run a team. Right?”
Last year, John headlined Madison Square Garden with a 120-person team, a massive production that was, by all accounts, a resounding success. But his team also noticed a major gap in one of the world’s biggest markets: New York City no longer had a dedicated electronic music festival. Electric Zoo on Randall’s Island once had all the right ingredients: an iconic venue, no noise restrictions, and proximity to the city. John played E-Zoo back in 2023, but the festival hasn’t returned since.
John launched his Experts Only record label in 2022, and a festival has always been on the horizon. This summer, everything seemed to fall into place. New York needed a show. John had the talent to make it happen. He didn’t have to book based on anyone’s ticket sales; he takes care of that on his own pretty well. Instead, he could curate a lineup just the way he wanted to, showcasing artists that reflect the Experts Only ethos of music without limits.
“I’ve been signing a lot of like-minded artists and artists whose music I play in my sets, but it’s also artists who are really the top of their level but may not be fully broken into the mainstream,” John explained. “I think it’s so fun to bring other people to the top.”
For John, it’s never been about the money, and now, he’s looking for ways to give back to the industry he’s found so much success in. A few years ago, Leah (LP Giobbi) brought John on to a panel discussion at the Electric Forest festival and introduced him to Femme House. The non-profit organization supports women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ creatives working in the behind-the-scenes sides of the music industry. As part of the Experts Only festival, $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the cause.
“It really opened my eyes to how cool their mission is,” John shared. “It’s no secret most DJs are guys and most producers are guys, and I think it’s because of the lack of awareness and education.”
At its core, the mission of Experts Only is to share boundary-pushing music with serious fans. The festival on Randall’s Island will be a first-of-its-kind, but for John Summit, that’s a risk worth taking. It’s all part of his larger vision.
He admits that the mountain-inspired “Summit” moniker might sound “pretty basic” to some, but the “Experts Only” metaphor is fitting when you look at the direction his life has taken.
“If you’ve ever gone skiing before, the double black diamond is the hardest run to do. I like that because I feel like that’s the route I’ve been taking in life, is doing the hardest path that’s rarely taken,” John recalled. “All the DJs, the artists on the label, I consider to be experts. I consider all the fans who go to the events true experts, because you can’t last till 4 A.M. afterparty if you’re not a party expert.”
As for potential Experts Only afterparties, ticket-holders should stay tuned. “There’s no scenario where I’m just going home afterwards,” he laughed, hinting that he’s looking at more intimate venues, and he plans to do little pop-ups at all of them.
In many ways, John is carving out a brand of his own — with a deep love for electronic music, a fanbase that’s starting to mirror the fierce loyalty of Swifties, and an experimental vision that is putting America’s party scene on the map.
Where does he go next? You’ll have to grab a ticket and see for yourself.
EDM stars on tour in 2025
If you’ve got a hankering for house, bass, trance or even dubstep, here are just five artists you won’t want to miss when they’re out and about these next few months.
• Mau P
Who else is on the road? Take a look at this list of all the biggest EDM stars on tour in 2025 to find the show for you.
