John Summit is the king of dance music as far as New York is concerned. A city that has had nightlife stripped from it after the Ezoo fiasco in 2023 and the bankruptcy of the iconic Brooklyn Mirage. While New York is blessed with many other amazing venues, the lack of a true music festival has always left ravers wanting more—step in, Experts Only.
John Summit’s label, which initially focused solely on music, has expanded to include full-blown shows. Last year, he had the idea of starting a festival under the brand, and no better place than New York City. Taking over Randall’s Island for 2 days, Experts Only had a stacked lineup of house legends and newcomers on the rise. The venue is the same place Ezoo occupied for over a decade, and it truly is perfect for a music festival.
The event, personally curated by John Summit, was produced by Relentless Beats and Medium Rare. Medium Rare co-founders Adam Richman and Joe Silberzweig got their start in the EDM industry having handled Electric Zoo 9 years ago. It’s due to their relationship with the city that New Yorkers now have a music fest back on Randall’s Island. The two also produce Dave Portnoy’s One Bite Pizza Festival which took place on the island the week before.
With the absence of Electric Zoo, and now Brooklyn Mirage, we saw a major hole in the market for this kind of show. It’s no easy feat to produce a 50,000-person festival on an island but we’re fortunate to have done it before and have gained the trust of city officials. It’s a full circle moment for us and it’s truly incredible to see the Experts Only Fest come to life.
-Adam Richman
This is actually our third major event in the city this month. Starting with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart’s Roommates Block Party in Central Park to One Bite Pizza fest with our partner Dave Portnoy last weekend, the culmination is with a huge major launch with Experts Only Fest. There is no better city in the world to put on these massive fan experiences and we’re just really grateful to get the opportunity to do it.
-Joe Silberzweig
The Lineup consisted of Summit both days and Green Velvet B2B Layton Giordani, Ayybo, Enamour B2B Weska, Pete Tong, Roddy Lima, Teed, and more on Saturday. Sunday kept the party going with Kaskade B2B Cassian, DJ Seinfeld, Kasablanca (Live), LP Giobbi, Tini Gessler, and more.
The festival could not have gone more smoothly for its first edition. Throwing a festival is no easy feat, but the Experts Only team showed how dedicated they were to the vision with a wide array of art installations, food and drink vendors, merch and shopping, and more. The festival welcomed more than 50,000 fans.
I sincerely hope they continue to come back to New York and expand the festival in years to come.
The Venue
Randall’s Island is situated just outside Upper Manhattan. The island offers the rare combination of being close to the city while feeling like an escape from it. With wide-open fields, waterfront views, and easy access by foot, bike, or ferry, it has everything a festival needs to thrive. Expansive lawns provide plenty of space for massive stages and sprawling crowds, while tree-lined paths and pockets of greenery carve out natural spots to recharge between sets.
Experts Only Festival had 3 stages. A massive main stage filled with giant screens, lights, and lasers. It looked most impressive at night when fire would shoot out everywhere. Mirror Field was the 2nd biggest stage situated on the opposite side. It was intimate and had plenty of space to get down. Impressive art installations surrounded it, along with a chill spot with beanie bags. The final stage showed that John can take a joke by naming it the Pwemium Wounge after one of his viral clips.
There was a ton of really good food and drink options. They featured New York classics like Prince Street Pizza. It was incredibly diverse with Hibachi, Dumplings, Mac & Cheese, BBQ, Sushi, and more. I really liked the Summit St. Market section, which had boutique clothing options perfect for raving and beyond. It also had Polaroid cameras for you to capture the moment like the olden days.
The Music
John Summit had two incredible two-hour sets. While his Saturday set was awesome, his Sunday set was legendary. Both were diverse across genres, and while there was, of course, some crossover tracks, you could feel the difference. He played all of his classics from ‘Go Back’ to ‘Where You Are’ to ‘Shiver’ and his ‘Sweet Disposition’ remix. John played some DnB as well, showcasing Dimensions‘ remix of ‘Silence’.
Saturday, he played a brand new edit of ‘Go Back’ that was beautiful. I am a sucker for the original and was very happy when he played that in full on Day 2. John played a crazy amount of tech house from IDs that I couldn’t shazam to SIDEPIECE’s edit of Kesha’s ‘Die Young’. He of course, played his new hit ‘crystallized’. He had a variety of versions and ended the festival with Subtronics‘ remix that had everyone thrusting.
The two massive B2Bs of the weekend were a conjunction of the old and new guard. My second favorite set was Kaskade B2B Cassian. They were the perfect combo of massive vocals and hard-hitting house. They brought the big festival energy and crowd-friendly peaks. They played Kaskade’s classics ‘I Remember’, ‘Escape’, and ‘Resonate’. Cassian dropped his newer bangers ‘Where I’m From’, ‘SOS’, and his remix of ‘Blessings’.
Green Velvet B2B Layton Giordani was another superb set. This was a unique set filled with raw tech-house energy and techno. It was one of the darker, sweat-drenched highlights. Chicago met New York in their B2B house crossover. Big build-ups, dramatic transitions, and mixing in older classics from Green Velvet to get sing-alongs. Layton provided the driving techno.
