John Summit’s Debut Album, Comfort in Chaos, was recently released, and since then he has been touring around the world to perform his album live in front of fans. Summit, whose real name is John Schuster, is an emerging figure in the house music scene and recently played at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Here’s an introduction to house music, a review of his debut album, and what we can expect from his future concerts.
“It’s About Time You Fell in Love With Something that Will Love You Back and That My Friends is House Music…”
I’m sure we’ve all heard this sound on TikTok as the background audio playing as people dress up to go to raves, house-music festivals, or to see iconic DJs such as John Summit. What exactly is house music though, and how did it get so popular among college students?
House music is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) and is a combination of music influenced from the disco and funk genre. John Summit uses a mix of house and techno music and has performed at major festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, Tomorrowland, and more.
John Summit is known as the “the hottest name in dance music” by Rolling Stone and “one of EDM’s biggest rising stars” by Variety. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s been perfecting his craft and playing, on average, over 200 shows per year since 2022.
He recently took a month-long break and decided to dedicate that time to creating a debut album that represented him, his artwork, and his thought process. His debut album, Comfort in Chaos, was released in July 2024 and is streamed over 4,000 times daily.
Summit told Variety Magazine, “The whole concept of ‘Comfort in Chaos’ is the duality of being John Summit and being John Schuster — John Summit, the big party entertainer; John Schuster, the more introverted, stay-at-home guy… So I’ve really found my comfort in this chaos.”
After selling out 3 nights in a row at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, CA, Summit concluded performing his debut album and plans to go back to the drawing board to plan his next big move. He will continue playing in Las Vegas, around Latin America, and his new exclusive 21+ shows in Vail, CO, and Lake Tahoe, NV.
From Pashminas to PLUR: Rave Outfits & Culture Galore
If you’re interested in seeing John Summit or any other house-music DJs perform, it’s good to get an introduction to what house music’s culture, a subset of rave and EDM culture, is like.
Since the 90s, people attending rave and EDM events have made new friends in the spirit of PLUR, which stands for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. PLUR is a mindset that encourages people to be accepting and loving of others and to spread positivity within the rave and EDM community.
One way to show PLUR at these events is to hand out friendship bracelets. Also known as Kandi bracelets, these have brightly colored plastic beads to accessorize your outfit or to share with others through the spirit of PLUR and love of EDM. Another way to show PLUR is to be mindful while walking through crowds and always treat people with respect by saying “excuse me” if pushing through a crowded space.
Lastly, another prominent accessory seen at rave and EDM concerts is a rave pashmina, also known as “a pash.” Different from the original pashmina that comes from a finer and softer wool from the Changthangi goat found in the Tibet region, a rave pashmina is made up of synthetic fabric and is brightly colored. People often wear these rave pashminas for comfort and warmth, as a fashion statement accessory, and protection from dust or other airborne particles common at outdoor raves.
I Wanna Go Back: John Summit’s Performance at the Kia Forum
John Summit had 3 different openers before performing each night at the Kia Forum. When the openers finished, John started his concert by playing his number #1 hit song, “Where You Are”. However, his song was played in a never-before-seen remix with a classical performance from an orchestra band.
Phones lit up the dark arena as fans eagerly started recording his opening act, and then the lights on his main stage lit up the rest of the arena. Hearing this house and orchestra mix of the song sent chills throughout the stadium.
Summit then transitioned into a wide array of songs, including some from his debut album as well as his other hit singles. Each song had different colors, various strobe lights, and visual effects on the screens above the stage.
At his Kia Forum concerts, he performed a remix of Chappell Roan’s song “Good Luck, Babe!” on the first night, Billie Eilish’s song “Ocean Eyes” on the second night, and Charli XCX’s song “Guess” on the third night. He also brought out guest musician Julia Church to perform their song “Resonate” together.
As he closed his performance, the stage went dark for a minute, and then he came back with musicians Julia Church and HAYLA to perform their final acts of the night. These two songs, “Go Back” and “Shiver” brought tears of happiness to the crowd. Confetti flew throughout the arena, and everyone felt a bit more connected with one another.
If you have the opportunity, I would 100% recommend you go see John Summit perform live. His show moved me, and I am sure it has done the same for the thousands of people who have watched him bring his music to life.