| John Summit | |
| Birth Name: | John Walter Schuster |
| Birth Date: | July 29, 1994 |
| Birth Place: | Naperville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin: | Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 2017–present |
| Occupation: | Music producer, DJ, remixer |
John Walter Schuster (born July 29, 1994), better known by his stage name John Summit, is an American DJ, producer, and remixer. Specializing in house and techno, he has performed for audiences at major festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, Tomorrowland, and Electric Daisy Carnival. Summit has also graced iconic venues like Red Rocks, BMO Stadium, and Madison Square Garden.
In 2024, Rolling Stone dubbed him "the hottest name in dance music," while Variety hailed him as "one of EDM's biggest rising stars." His music, featuring several #1 hits on the US Dance charts, combines original tracks, remixes, and legendary marathon DJ sets.
Summit was born on July 29th, 1994 in Naperville, Illinois, outside of Chicago. He graduated from Neuqua Valley High School[1] and later attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[2]
Summit was an active DJ while studying accounting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, [3] where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.[4] He would frequently DJ at venues like The Red Lion in Champaign and Canopy Club in Urbana. In 2019, finding his accounting job as a CPA at Ernst & Young "soul-sucking," he switched to full-time producing, supporting himself with money he had saved.[5]
Summit's breakthrough onto the national stage came in 2020 with his track "Deep End," released on Defected Records, which became the longest-running Beatport No. 1 track of the year.[6]
More career growth followed in 2021 with the release of singles "Sun Came Up," a collaboration with Sofi Tukker, and "Human," (featuring Echoes) which became a No. 1 US dance track.[7] [8] By the end of 2021, he had amassed more than 4 million listeners on Spotify, rising to 7.8 million by September 2023. To close out 2021, Dancing Astronaut named him its Breakout Artist of the Year[9] and he became Beatport's top-selling artist in all genres in 2021.
In 2022 Summit toured Europe, Australia, and the US. While on tour, he started his own label and events brand, Off the Grid, which was rebranded in 2023 to Experts Only.[10] The name "Experts Only" reflects his love of mountains and skiing, as does his stage name (originally just "Summit").[11] Since its launch, the label has released music by John Summit himself and various other artists.[12] [13] [14] In 2022 Summit was named 1001tracklist's #4 Producer of the Year.[15]
In early 2023, Summit released "Where You Are" (feat. Hayla) with Experts Only in partnership with Darkroom Records.[16] The release, which Rolling Stone called "a festival mainstay[17]," led him to his first Billboard Top 10 in March 2023,[18] and in June, the record hit #1 on the Mediabase US Dance Radio chart.[19] [20]
Shortly after the inception of “Where You Are”, BBC Radio 1 aired Summit’s first BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in February 2023.[21] In September, Summit and fellow DJ Dom Dolla debuted a collaborative events brand called Everything Always at the Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington.[22]
Summit's major live appearances in 2023 included Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater,[23] The Brooklyn Mirage,[24] and Petco Park, as well as festivals such as EDC Las Vegas, HARD Summer,[25] Lollapalooza Brazil, Creamfields North,[26] Hangout, and ARC Music Festival Chicago.[27]
In November 2023 Summit was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Music list.[28] At the end of the year, Barack Obama named Summit's song with Hayla, "Where You Are," as one of his favorite songs of the year.[29]
On February 14, 2024, Summit released his single "Shiver" (featuring Hayla) with Experts Only in partnership with Darkroom Records. The song led to his second top 10 on the Billboard Hot Electronic / Dance Songs chart and was praised by Jon Caramanica of The New York Times who shared, "very rarely does something come along that feels like it has a pulsing heart."[30] In April, he performed sets at Coachella, including with Dom Dolla as part of Everything Always and a solo set that saw Summit closing out the Sahara stage.[31]
On May 16, Summit teamed up with Sub Focus and Julia Church for the release of their collaboration "Go Back," which NYLON praised as “an undulating house and drum and bass smasher that’ll undeniably be another hit.” [32]
Summit currently lives in Miami, Florida, where he purchased a residence in early 2023.[33]
In May 2024, Summit announced his debut album Comfort in Chaos, which was released on July 12, featuring "Where You Are", "Shiver", and "Go Back".[34] It debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and number 39 on the US Billboard 200[35] and received significant praise around the world, with Forbes describing it as “a masterclass in unbound creativity.”[36]
Following an incredibly successful debut album launch, a sold-out, 5-hour performance at Madison Square Garden in June, and an announcement of three headline dates at the Kia Forum for November, Summit was named 1001tracklist’s #1 Producer of 2024.[37]
| Year | Title | Album | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | "Shake & Pop" (John Summit Remix) | Single | Experts Only/Darkroom Records | |
| "Go Back" (feat. Julia Church; YDG Remix) | Single | |||
| "Tears" (with Paige Cavell; Max Styler Remix) | Single | |||
| "Gas Pedal Remix" (with Subtronics, Tape B, and Sage The Gemini) | Single | |||
| "Comfort in Chaos" | Comfort In Chaos | |||
| "Tears" (with Paige Cavell) | Comfort In Chaos | |||
| "Stay with Me" (with Of The Trees) | Comfort In Chaos | |||
| "comedown" | Comfort In Chaos | |||
| "Undo" (with KOATES) | Comfort In Chaos | |||
| "Palm of My Hands" (with Venbee) | Comfort In Chaos | |||
| "Resonate" (with Kaskade, feat. Julia Church) | Single | |||
| "Shiver" (with Hayla; Cassian Remix) | Single | |||
| "Go Back" (with Sub Focus, feat. Julia Church) | Single | |||
| "Eat the Bass" | Single | |||
| "Shiver" (with Hayla) | Single | |||
| "Sweet Disposition" (John Summit & Silver Panda Remix) | Single | Experts Only | ||
| 2023 | "Legacy" (with Vltra) | Single | Experts Only | |
| "Hungover" (with Mathame, feat. Camden Cox) | Experts Only/Darkroom Records | |||
| "Where You Are" (with Hayla) | ||||
| "Fade Out" (with MKLA) | ||||
| "I Remember" (John Summit Remix) | EpicWin Ltd. | |||
| "Moving All Around (Jumpin')" (feat. Kim English; John Summit Remix) | Ministry of Sound Recordings | |||
| 2022 | "La Danza" | Single | Defected Records | |
| "Show Me" (feat. Hannah Boleyn) | Experts Only | |||
| "Revolution" | ||||
| "In Chicago" | Experts Only | |||
| "What a Life" (with Guz, feat. Steve Appleton) | ||||
| "Freeze" (John Summit Remix) | Kygo/RCA Records | |||
| "Escape" (John Summit Remix) | mau5trap Recordings Limited | |||
| 2021 | "Better Than This" (with Parachute Youth) | Single | Sweat It Out | |
| "Sun Came Up" (with Sofi Tukker) | Ultra Records | |||
| "Human" (feat. Echoes) | FFRR | |||
| Remix: Purple Disco Machine's "Dopamine" (feat. Eyelar) | Positiva | |||
| Remix: Dennis Ferrer and Disciples' "Whisper" (feat. James Yuill) | Defected Records | |||
| Remix with Vintage Culture: Sofi Tukker's "Drinkee" (with Vintage culture) | Ultra Records | |||
| "Witch Doctor" (feat. Nic Fanciulli) | Saved Records | |||
| Remix: Gorgon City and Drama's "You've Done Enough" | EMI | |||
| "Thin Line" (Dub; with Guz) | D4 D4NCE | |||
| "Beauty Sleep" | Beauty Sleep EP | Repopulate Mars | ||
| "Make Me Feel" | Make Me Feel EP | Insomniac Records | ||
| 2020 | "Deep End" | Single | Defected Records | |
| "Thin Line" (with Guz) | D4 D4NCE | |||
| "Impactor" (with Dead Space) | Sink Or Swim | |||
| "I miss u" (with Au/Ra; John Summit Remix) | Polydor Records | |||
| "Stronger" (John Summit Remix) | Three Six Zero Recordings | |||
| "Illusions" | Connected EP | South Of Saturn | ||
| "Connected" | ||||
| "Forgotten One" | Forgotten One EP | Repopulate Mars | ||
| "Summertime Chi" (with Lee Foss, Hayley May) | Single | |||
| 2019 | "Kudu" (with Dead Space) | Single | Country Club Disco | |
| "Guest List" (with Dead Space) | Ferris Wheel Recordings | |||
| "Seen It All" (with Eyes Everywhere) | ||||
| "Dimension" | Houseline | |||
| "Trip" (with Tombz) | ||||
| "Goin' Back" | Get Twisted Records | |||
| "You Know" (with Steve Darko) | Self Released | |||
| "Bass Go" (with Gene Farris) | Solotoko | |||
| "Afterhours" | Afterhours / Addiction EP | This Ain't Bristol | ||
| "Addiction" | ||||
| "Simulate" | Simulate EP | Repopulate Mars | ||
| "Esa Boca" (with Dillon Nathaniel) | ||||
| "Control" | ||||
| 2018 | "Touch Me” | Touch Me EP | Psycho Disco | |
| "Acid Emergency" | ||||
| "Trompetas" | Trompetas EP | |||
| "Elevate" | ||||
| "Disoriented" | Single | Laser Native | ||
| "Lost Way" | ||||
| "I See You" (with MKJAY) | Toolroom | |||
| "Susie's Weapon" (John Summit Remix) | Susie's Weapon EP | Hood Politics Records | ||
| 2017 | "Girl" | Single | Build It Records |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance/Electronic | US Dance Radio | ||||||
| "Deep End" | 2020 | 26 | — | Deep End | |||
| "Human" (feat. Echoes) | 2021 | 26 | 1 | Human (Extended) | |||
| "Sun Came Up" (with Sofi Tukker) | 34 | 2 | Wet Tennis | ||||
| "La Danza" | 2022 | 40 | — | La Danza | |||
| "What a Life" (with Guz, feat. Steve Appleton) | — | 37 | What a Life | ||||
| "In Chicago" | 44 | — | In Chicago | ||||
| "Revolution" | 47 | — | Revolution | ||||
| "Show Me" (feat. Hannah Boleyn) | 50 | — | Show Me | ||||
| "Where You Are" (with HAYLA) | 2023 | 8 | 1 | Comfort in Chaos | |||
| "Fade Out" (feat. MKLA) | 28 | — | Fade Out | ||||
| "Hungover" | 31 | — | Hungover | ||||
| "Sweet Disposition" (John Summit & Silver Panda Remix) | 2024 | — | 10 | Sweet Disposition | |||
| "Shiver" (with HAYLA) | 8 | 4 | Comfort in Chaos | ||||
| "EAT THE BASS" | 36 | — | Comfort in Chaos | ||||
| "Go Back" (with Sub Focus, feat. Julia Church) | 12 | 6 | Comfort in Chaos | ||||
| "Resonate" (with Kaskade, feat. Julia Church) | 35 | — | Comfort in Chaos | ||||
| "Tears" (with Paige Cavell) | 22 | 33 | Comfort in Chaos | ||||
| "Gas Pedal Remix" (with Subtronics, Tape B, and Sage The Gemini) | 19 | — | Gas Pedal | ||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||