John Summit will present Experts Only, a two-day electronic music festival on Randall’s Island set for Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21, organizers said. The inaugural event, curated by the 31-year-old DJ and label head, is expected to draw as many as 50,000 fans and will feature large-scale staging, interactive art installations and a lineup drawn from Summit’s label and touring rotation.
Summit, who Rolling Stone called "the hottest name in house music," will headline alongside BBC Radio host Pete Tong, a live set from DJ duo Kasablanca, a back-to-back performance by Kaskade and Cassian, and a set by local favorite Tony Y Not. Longtime collaborator LP Giobbi, known for blending classical keyboard training with modern house production, is also scheduled to perform.
Summit launched the Experts Only record label in 2022 and said the festival has been part of the long-range plan for the imprint. Summit said he and his team saw a gap in New York's live-electronic calendar after Electric Zoo, which also took place on Randall's Island, did not return following its 2023 edition. "New York needed a show," Summit told The Post, explaining that curating the festival allowed him to showcase both established selectors and artists he describes as "like-minded" but not yet mainstream.
Organizers will offer both two-day and single-day tickets, and Summit said $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to Femme House, a nonprofit that supports women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creatives working behind the scenes in the music industry. Summit credited LP Giobbi with introducing him to the organization and said the group’s mission influenced the festival’s charitable component.
Summit, born John Schuster and a University of Illinois graduate, worked as an accountant while DJing locally before breaking through with his track "Deep End," which was picked up by Defected Records. He said his early gigs were driven by passion rather than profit. "The accounting job kind of gently let me go," he said, describing his transition to full-time DJing. In recent years Summit has expanded into large-scale touring and production; he headlined Madison Square Garden with a 120-person team last year.
Summit described house music as "a feeling" rooted in a steady four-on-the-floor beat and tracing back to disco. He declined to define the genre in precise technical terms, instead characterizing the sound as "hypnotic bass music that just keeps you dancing all night." Summit emphasized balance and longevity as guiding principles in his career, saying, "I’m not here for a short time, I’m here for a long time," and crediting business training with helping to avoid pitfalls that end other artists' careers.
The festival is billed as a platform for artists Summit has signed to his label as well as performers whose music he frequently includes in his sets. He said he does not plan to let ticket-sales data dictate the lineup, preferring to shape a bill that reflects the Experts Only ethos of "music without limits." The festival will include stage production and interactive elements Summit said are designed to provide an immersive experience for dedicated fans.
Summit also spoke about the personal and professional lessons that informed his approach to the event. He recalled a period at Burning Man when he went two days without using his phone and said the time gave him perspective on the journey from local DJ to international headliner. He described mistakes and setbacks as formative and said much of his team came from ordinary jobs before joining his operation, which he said fostered a culture of experimentation.
Summit said he expects to stage afterparties and pop-up events around the festival but did not announce specific venues. His 2025 touring calendar includes an appearance at London’s O2 Arena on Sept. 13, multiple dates at Austin City Limits in October, and a string of engagements in Las Vegas through the end of the year, among other bookings.
Tickets for Experts Only go on sale through the festival’s official channels. Summit’s announcement follows months of planning and positions his label and festival as a bid to reestablish a large-scale electronic music presence on Randall's Island and in New York City more broadly. The event will seek to balance high-profile names with a roster intended to elevate emerging artists while contributing to industry diversity through its Femme House donation.