John Summit left the decks at Mandarine Tent at 5:20 AM after playing for two hours and 20 minutes. To the crowd, it looked like he had ended an advertised three-hour set 40 minutes early. Summit's explanation was very different: he says he was only booked for two hours.
Two different set times
If the promoter advertised a 3 AM to 6 AM Summit slot while his booking only covered two hours, the problem began long before he left the booth. Fans and the artist arrived with two different versions of the night.
Summit said Buenos Aires was already his longest show of the tour. He had played 20 minutes past his booking and then gone straight to the airport for another performance in Rio. If the party needed to continue until 6, he said, the promoter should have booked a closer.
The crowd still had a fair reason to be confused. People expected the schedule they were shown, and the music stopped without an explanation at the venue. That frustration should have been directed at the scheduling and communication behind the event.
The backlash turns personal
Instead, part of the backlash became personal. Summit said some people sent DMs telling him to kill himself. That is not criticism of a set. It is abuse.
His response also came after months of being open about how much touring has taken out of him. Earlier this year, he told Billboard that nonstop shows and travel had left him "mentally exhausted." In August, he cancelled four European festival appearances so he could rest and "recharge" before his arena tour.
Summit is allowed to have limits, and fans are allowed to expect the set they were sold. Both can be true. What was not fair was leaving the artist to absorb the anger created by a schedule he says he never agreed to.
Fresh New Tunes
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