NEW YORK CITY — Saturday attendance exceeded 30,000 attendees, selling out before the festival returned for its second and final day on Sunday. Rain occurred during the event, but the crowd remained engaged throughout the scheduled performances.

The festival was produced by Medium Rare, Relentless Beats and EMW. It featured performances across three stages: Main Stage, Mirror Field and Pwemium Lounge. Pre-festival marketing included a scavenger hunt in Wall Street leading to a mock newspaper called 'The Summit Street Journal.'

John Summit performed an extended headlining set on the Main Stage on Saturday. The 32-year-old DJ, who is from Chicago, opened his set with a remix of "DON’T BELIEVE IT." His 2.5-hour performance included songs such as "Lights Go Out," "In Chicago," a Pitbull remix of "Hey Baby" and Britney Spears’ "I Wanna Go." He also performed a remix of Lady Gaga’s "Paparazzi" and a remix of "Go Back with Julia Church. Summit welcomed the crowd with the phrase, New York, how the f*** we feeling, baby?"

The Saturday lineup included OMRI. Soraya, Levity, LYNY, Taiki Nulight, Rohaan, Yetti, rSUN, Stello, Gabss, Airrica and Madi (IT). The 2026 Experts Only Festival lineup also included Adam Ten, Max Styler and Subtronics. The main goal was to strike a tasteful balance, and I think we both feel really good about where it’s landed,” Subtronics said. “Even when I was living in Scranton, I would travel to BASSment Saturday at Webster Hall probably every single weekend,” he said.

Summit performed a sunset set on Sunday. He later joined Subtronics for a collaborative set called SUBJOHNICS to close the festival on Sunday. Subtronics, whose real name is Jesse Kardon, said the collaboration achieved a specific artistic goal.

“I am really excited about the balance that we struck,” he said. “It’s a really tasteful selection of both four on the floor, house, trance, techno, and bass music.”

Subtronics grew up in Philadelphia but cited New York City as a formative location for his career. “I feel like even though I am from Philadelphia, a great deal of my being a local DJ chapter took place in New York,” he said. He noted that he would travel to BASSment Saturday at Webster Hall probably every single weekend while living in Scranton.

“It was a key formative part of my dubstep journey,” he said. New York is like day one for me. I learned how to do this here.

B/AN/K, a DJ from Queens, also performed at the festival. “It’s honestly an unreal feeling,” B/AN/K said. “It means so much to me, especially being the only hometown person that is playing on the lineup.” B/AN/K credited Summit with supporting their career.

“Honestly, I owe my whole career to the fact that John gave me a chance,” B/AN/K said. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here today, so it always means a lot, especially his team.” “His team has been amazing towards me,” B/AN/K said.

The Sunday lineup included GRiZ, Innellea B2B Korolova, Devault, Dreya V, Partiboi69, Will Clarke, Jackie Hollander, Dansyn, Broken Hill, No Static, Josie. Mishell, B/AN/K and Philou. Summit previously worked as a CPA and performed at Delta Tau Delta frat parties during college before gaining popularity on Spotify in 2020. He owns the record label Experts Only.

Why It Matters

The Experts Only Festival attracted over 60,000 people across both days, marking a major moment in the U.S. electronic music festival scene. The official record states that more than 60,000 fans attended throughout the weekend, as reported by the festival's organizers and covered in multiple media outlets. The event confirmed its scale with attendance figures exceeding 30,000 on Saturday alone.

The festival's production by Medium Rare, Relentless Beats and EMW supported a lineup that blended house, techno and bass music. The collaborative closing set between Summit and Subtronics demonstrated a cross-genre appeal that drew large crowds. The event's success on Randall's Island establishes a precedent for large-scale electronic music gatherings in New York City.

Timeline

John Summit gained popularity on Spotify in 2020. John Summit will perform at LIV Beach in Las Vegas on September 26. John Summit will perform at State Farm Center in Champaign, IL on October 1.

John Summit will perform at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA on October 2. The Experts Only Festival will take place in George, WA on October 3-4. John Summit will perform at the Bell center in Montreal, QC on October 23. John Summit will perform at the TD Coliseum in Hamilton, ON on October 24. John Summit will perform at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON on October 25.

What's New

The Experts Only Festival, curated by John Summit, was held on Randall’s Island in New York City and attracted over 60,000 people across both days, according to reports from the event's coverage. John Summit joined Subtronics for a collaborative set called SUBJOHNICS to close the festival on Sunday. More than 60,000 fans attended the Experts Only Festival over the weekend.

The Experts Only Festival took place over two days on Randall’s Island in New York City, with Saturday selling out at over 30,000 attendees before the festival returned for its second and final day on Sunday. The Experts Only Festival was produced by Medium Rare, Relentless Beats and EMW. John Summit performed a sunset set on Sunday. He said, “I am really excited about the balance that we struck.”