Years after growing up in Naperville, John Summit returned to the Chicagoland area this week to perform on one of his biggest stages at Lollapalooza.
New summit at Lollapalooza
The 32-year-old DJ and record producer headlined the festival’s opening night on Bud Light Stage in Grant Park on Thursday.
It’s his first time headlining the annual four-day festival after “going every year as a fan growing up,” Summit said on Instagram.
He noted that his journey started with playing clubs and warehouses “all over the city for years before making my first break,” saying “young summit never would’ve expected this in a million years.”
“Safe to say i will be going all out for my hometown this year,” Summit told followers before the performance.
Summit did a 90-minute set with tracks from his new album “CTRL ESCAPE” on Thursday night, as reported by Block Club Chicago.
An early start in music
A Neuqua Valley High School alumnus, Summit’s given name is John Schuster. Though he pursued music from a young age, his mother, Tamara, told the Chicago Tribune that he started DJing in college, staying out late at night and over weekends to play at clubs.
Summit worked as an accountant before taking his music career full-time. He released his first EP “Touch Me” in 2018 with Psycho Disco! record label.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Summit spent his time in quarantine making videos online explaining production skills to his followers, such as basslines and percussion, using his at-home studio setup.
Summit stands in front of the Kia Forum arena in Los Angeles, Calif., ahead of shows from his first album, “Comfort in Chaos.” Photo courtesy: @johnsummit on Instagram.
Producing top records
His single “Deep End” was produced in his quarantine studio and released in June 2020 by Defected Records. Less than a month later, it was the number one record on Beatport, a streaming platform for DJ tracks and electronic music.
By September 2020, Summit was the top artist on Beatport across all genres. In May of the following year, he was the top artist across all genres over the last 12+ months.
He would eventually take the top spot in 1001Tracklists’ Top 101 Producers of 2024.
Summit with his first album, “Comfort in Chaos.” Photo courtesy: @johnsummit on Instagram.
From Naperville studio to national stage
Summit was invited to perform at his first festival in October 2020, taking the stage at Electronic Zoo Festival in New York. He has since performed at the major festival Coachella and produced music with The Chainsmokers.
After years of releasing singles in collaboration with record labels, Summit launched his own label, Experts Only, in 2022. The label produces music by other DJs and hosts events and festivals around the country.
He released his first album, “Comfort in Chaos,” in 2024. His second album, “CTRL ESCAPE,” was released earlier this year, and his first area tour for the album begins in October.
Featured image courtesy: John Summit on Facebook
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