Earlier this month, DJ/Producer John Summit decided to literally run New York City.
Ahead of his Experts Only Festival — the two-day, sold-out fest, named after his label, curated and headlined by the star, that took over Randall Island with more than 50,000 fans — he took part in a surprise one-mile run through Chelsea with lululemon. At the end of the run, Summit played an impromptu set at the Vessel, making it the official finish line.
The weekend takeover is another win for the star, who released his debut album Comfort In Chaos last summer — a meditation on his times on the road and the highs and lows of playing for sold-out crowds. The collection of tracks echoed the success of his earlier hits, like his breakthrough single “Deep End,” his collab with Sofi Tukker “Sun Came Up,” and “Human” which featured Echoes and hit No. 1 on US dance radio.
Below we catch up with Summit after his busy weekend, to chat about what's next for his Experts Only Festival, his plans for new music, and why he loves running New York City.
How are you feeling after the long weekend?
I’m feeling very happy about it all. Very stress-free. It was so many months in the making, so to pull it off in the way we did, I’m very happy about it all.
Let’s go back in time to when you were first thinking about creating and curating a festival? How did the idea first come to you?
I’ve wanted to do one ever since I launched the record label. I started it three years ago. But to do a festival, you have to sign a bunch of artists, make a bunch of music and build a community. We’d been doing a bunch of events, we did some in Vegas and Tahoe, so throwing events wasn’t new to us. But I knew the next step, to make it bigger, was to do a multi-day festival with multiple stages. New York was a no-brainer place to do it, especially when we found out we’d be able to do it at Randall’s Island. It worked out so well.
Had you had an event at Randall’s Island before?
No. I had played at certain clubs there [NYC] before, but besides that no. I did MSG last year, and it was fun but that was just as John Summit. But Experts Only is the real passion project; it’s more community-focused.
It’s really cool that you brought a festival there. What were some highlights from the weekend?
I did a pop-up throwback set on the second day at the second stage. That was just awesome, seeing all the fans get there early for it. All the energy was amazing; they were really there for the music. I got to play a bunch of records I haven’t played in a while. That was cool to see come together. And all the art installations, the way the stages turned out, the premium lounge. There are all these little fun things and cool food vendors. Even the merch, everything was incredible, even outside of the music and my sets. I was just enjoying it all day.
Love that you were there as a fan and a performer and the person behind it. Let’s talk about the surprise DJ set at The Vessel. How did that come together?
Well we knew we wanted to work with lululemon on something. And the obvious thing to do was a run or workout. But I wanted to incorporate a DJ set into it as well, because that is my trade. As much as I love running, I’m definitely not a professional. The hard thing then was finding somewhere to do it. We wanted somewhere that would feel special and unique. And because it’s limited capacity, we just advertised the run, not the set. During the run, everyone thought that when the run was over, we’d be done. People were high-fiving me and trying to leave, but I was like, “Don’t leave yet!” It was cool to throw a pop-up set for everybody. And I had never been inside The Vessel. I had seen pictures but it looks even cooler in person. It turned out so well.
Having taken over New York City for a weekend, what is it you love about it?
It feels like the creative capital of the world. Any big moves that happen in New York, the rest of the world ends up hearing about. So it felt like a good place to start the festival. We really wanted to get the word out there. There’s so much energy here. People are real music listeners, and there are so many people here because of how huge this city is. There wasn’t any other electronic music festivals going on, so it was very exciting. Even doing all the press stuff during the week was fun. I went on ABC News, did Bloomberg. I feel like I truly hit the next level this past week. Shit feels like it’s getting real.
There’s no going back now! Speaking of this peak, what’s next? Now that you’ve done these things, where do you go from here? What can you share with fans next?
The huge question mark was “Is this going to be well-received?” We of course want to keep doing the festival and make it better and better. We were able to pull it off so well that we’re already working on year two. That’s the next logical step, followed by expanding it outside of New York. I can’t list any place yet, since there’s a lot of work involved. But it was a great proof of concept this weekend, and the world saw it, which is great.
I’ll be working on my next album this winter. For me, the music is what fuels the whole business. And I’ve been touring non-stop, so to take some time off and get creative will be a lot of fun. I just want to keep going and pushing and signing more artists. It’ll become something that will stick around for a while.
Photography courtesy of John Summit
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