F  L  A  U  N  T

 Photographed by [Tyler Rittenhouse](https://www.instagram.com/tritt_visuals/) Last month, Insomniac hosted their 25th Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and every moment was surely celebrated, whether it was about the anniversary or simply the appreciation of being together after time spent apart. After two years without EDC, Chicago-based DJ, John Summit, kicked off the revival weekend at the Opening Ceremony.  **3:30PM** - Board the shuttle and embark on an hour-long journey of anticipation to the festival grounds.  **4:30PM** - Walk head down amongst the herd of festival-goers shuffling to the entrance.  **4:15PM** - Walk up the stairs of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and there it is—the ultimate carnival for adults.  **5:00PM** \- The Opening Ceremony begins. John Summit presses “play” at the Cosmic Meadow stage as the festival gates open.   Greeted with a sea of lights, pyrotechnic displays emerging from every direction and acrobatic performances that had everyone holding their breath, EDC knew how to make a lasting impression. “I didn’t realize the grand scope of this festival and the production. It’s just such a spectacle, the whole festival is—the drones, the fireworks, everything,” says John Summit when asked about his first time at EDC. According to him, one of the most notable aspects of this festival was it’s wide range of electronic music—house, drum and bass, techno, dubstep, etc. “Most festivals usually only have one (electronic) stage, where this one had multiple stages with acts that I genuinely love and respect. It’s cool to have a festival that’s diverse like that,” says Summit. Insomniac created a curated experience by housing 8 stages separated by music genre to guarantee there was something for everyone. And with over 20 carnival rides in between each stage paired with constant firework shows, there was so much to see and no time to rest.  With EDC being one of the largest edm festivals worldwide, artists gave the attendees a first-class experience when they brought out special guests, such as Lil Nas X and The Kid LAROI, or as John Summit did, teased unreleased music. The audience at EDC got to hear it live, but John Summit just released his long-awaited track, “[Human](https://ffrr.lnk.to/HumanJohnSummit).” Along with hundreds of production elements, it features his new venture in songwriting, coupling the essence of vulnerability with chill house.  Despite having done this 25 times, Insomniac continues to bring new sensational elements to EDC, making every one feel like a grand celebration. With dancers, aerialists and circus performers all around, and an environment that invites individuality and encourages connection, EDC truly means it when they say, ”all are welcome here.” They have proven time and again that every year can be just as wondrous as the last because people don’t just come for the lineup, they come for the invaluable experience—the world of whimsy and imagination.   **5:30AM** - The closing artists (**_SLANDER b2b Said The Sky, Alison Wonderland, Nitti Gritti, Gammer b2b K?D, 12th Planet b2b SAYMYNAME, Test Pilot and Atliens_**) say their thank you’s and goodbye’s and the post-festival depression sets in.  **5:45AM** - Walk head down amongst the herd of festival-goers shuffling to the exit.  **6:15AM** - Board your shuttle and embark on an hour-long journey of exhaustion and excitement to do it all over again.  John Summit, going from a full-time accountant to performing EDC’s Opening Ceremony, shares his unique journey that resonates with so many who are struggling to find their creative outlet. His advice—invest in yourself.  **What was life before being a DJ and what was that turning point for you?**  “Before I was touring I actually got my masters in accounting, got my CPA and everything. It sounds as far removed from music as possible, but the reason why I think I got so into music production is because my job was so monotonous and boring that I absolutely needed a creative outlet. So I’d be working until 10 p.m. every night because hours for public accounting are crazy and producing music every single night. Then my music started going more and more viral on SoundCloud and Spotify and a ton of DJ’s started playing it out, then I started getting more gigs and then I ran out of PTO days. That’s when I said, ‘Alright screw it, I’m going to be a full-time DJ,’ and as soon as I started getting momentum, the pandemic hit. But I didn't let that deter me whatsoever—I started immediately doing YouTube tutorials, started teaching Ableton classes, and started posting Tiktoks. I basically did everything possible to make a career when there were no gigs or anything. Then my music started to go super viral because you didn’t have shows, all you had was social media to share music. So the momentum built so much that by the time we finally came back and things opened up, my shows went from 100 people to 2,000 to 4,000 people now. It’s been absolutely insane but I’ve been loving every second of it.” **With having that job that you said was so monotonous, are you grateful for that experience because it brought you this motivation?** “1000%. People always say how do you do such a crazy DJ schedule in order to spend so much time making music because I don’t really take vacation days. The only time I go out is when I’m DJing. It’s such a corny phrase, but it’s not a job if you love it and I truly do love this. I’d do anything to not go back to what I was doing before because I’m naturally such a creative person and it’s soul-crushing to do a job where I don’t get to flex my creativity. So I think that having that experience really fuels my motivation, so I’m definitely grateful for it.  **I think that a lot of people who follow you and enjoy your music really enjoy that aspect of your journey.** “It was super scary at first, but the one piece of advice that I could give is that some people quit their job right away whereas I already had multiple label releases under my belt and playing gigs in different states so on the flip side, I think people should know that it is possible to have a stable job and pursue a hobby or career making music. Because having the stress of having to pay bills is so tough where I was lucky where I could save up a bunch of money from accounting and then once I was able to quit, pursue this. And ever since then I haven’t looked back for one second because I knew that this is what I definitely want to be doing and I am obviously grateful for how well the career has been going so far.”