John Summit LA cut four European festival dates from his August schedule on Monday, Aug. 17, saying he is stepping back from touring to rest before his fall arena run. The producer and DJ said the pause comes even as he prepares a 21-date North American tour built around CTRL ESCAPE.
“after much thought i have decided to take the rest of august off of touring to rest & get ready for my upcoming arena tour.” He also said, “i rarely ever do this but there is so much work to do for the tour and i need to recharge my battery a bit before this fall.”
Pukkelpop, UNO Malta, Creamfields
The canceled dates remove him from Belgium’s Pukkelpop, Malta’s UNO Malta, the U.K.’s Creamfields and France’s Touquet Music Beach Festival. Summit also said he would not be able to make it to Pukkelpop, Creamfields, Radio 1 Malta and Touquet festivals, which narrows the impact to four European festival appearances rather than a broader route change.
CTRL ESCAPE reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums chart in April, and that chart result helps explain why the arena push carries more weight than a typical club run. He had recently headlined Lollapalooza and played his UNVRS Ibiza residency, along with festivals such as Ultra Europe, Tomorrowland and Canada’s Cowboy’s Music Festival.
Oct. 1 in Champaign, Ill.
The 21-date North American tour begins on Oct. 1 in Champaign, Ill., before closing on Dec. 12 at the 77,500-capacity Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Summit said, “Over the years LA has made some of the most special moments of my career” and added, “From the Palladium to the Shrine, then BMI Stadium to Kia Forum.. we knew we had to end the album tour on the highest note in Los Angeles.”
That leaves September as the bridge between the August pullback and the arena rollout, with dates in Bogotá, Colombia, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, plus his own Experts Only Festival in New York and a gig at Las Vegas’ LIV Nightclub. For fans holding tickets to the four canceled festivals, the practical move is to treat his fall arena schedule as the new center of gravity, because that is where he is putting the time he just reclaimed.
