John Summit Reflects on Staying Humble and Opening Up While Breaking New Ground

Comfort in Chaos  is the title of John Summit’s debut studio album, but it’s also the ethos of his career. Backstage at Madison Square Garden, the DJ and producer caught up with Rolling Stone on The Green Room. Ahead of his headlining performance at the famous venue, the 29-year-old opened up about staying humble and getting vulnerable in his music while navigating the new ground he’s breaking in his career.

Comfort in Chaos arrived on July 12, featuring “Where You Are,” “Shiver,” and “Go Back.” But Summit’s career started taking shape a decade ago. He cut his teeth playing shows five nights a week on tour, carving out a space for himself in the dance scene and building a reputation for delivering high-energy performances for thousands-deep crowds.

“I’ve just been doing singles for eight years, and I didn’t really have to make an album because I was successful. But all my favorite artists all have albums,” he says. “That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I made a lot of music that people don’t expect for me on it. I’m more nervous about putting that out and playing Madison Square Garden.”

But as a musician, Summit has found that stepping away from the vortex of that world allows him to access a deeper level of creativity. Across the album, he leaned more into reflecting on his personal life than he did on his previous releases. “I’m pretty introverted and stuff in real life. But then when I go on stage, I can turn the John Summit brain on and become this big performer and play in front of 100,000 people, and I’m totally fine with it,” Summit explains. “But when you’re touring and playing every night, you kind of get lost in that. You kind of forget who you are a little bit.”

He continues: “And so I’ve been trying to take more time off lately, and seeing family and friends. I think I make better music when I get out of that zone because that’s more of the performing zone … And they treat me like a normal person, too. They don’t care who you are. They’ll still make fun of you.”

Staying grounded has allowed Summit to expand as an artist while also holding onto the elements of his musicianship that brought him this far in the first place. He still gets nervous before a show, whether his audience is the thousands of people filling up the world’s most famous arena or a few hundred watching him perform in much smaller rooms. Either way, his routine is the same.

“Up until 10 minutes before the set, I got my laptop here, I’m working and changing every little detail because I’m very neurotic,” Summit explains. “But then once I’m 10 minutes out, close the laptop, export my USBs, take my tequila shots, and I get on stage.”