Thomas Turner Talks Experts Only Festival and Future of Relentless Beats
Relentless Beats founder Thomas Turner sat down to discuss the debut of John Summit’s Experts Only Festival in NYC. In this interview, Turner shared how the partnership was formed, the vision behind the event, and what fans can expect when the house and techno festival takes over Randall’s Island this September.
Q: How did the partnership between Relentless Beats and John Summit come about for Experts Only?
Thomas Turner: We were discussing some different options for John Summit in New York, and one of them started to pick up momentum, but it conflicted with the date I knew one of my best friends, Adam Richman (co-founder of Medium-Rare), had at Randall’s Island for a different event.
Q: What drew you to this project specifically—and why did it feel like the right fit for Relentless Beats?
A: It was a coincidence that I matched up the availability of the park with the other conversation that I was having. When I saw the opportunity, I reached out to Ben Shprits at Wasserman to discuss it. I explained that it would be an ideal scenario to work with some of my very best friends in the business, who are countless in the Medium-Rare office as well as the Wasserman office.
Q: From your perspective, what was the vision behind Experts Only Festival, and how did your team help shape that into reality?
A: The vision for Experts Only Festival was to empower the Experts Only team to collaborate with us in creating an exceptional Experts Only experience in New York City for their fan base, as well as a unique special event for the people of New York City.
Q: Why was New York City chosen as the location for this year’s event, and what makes it such a unique market for dance music?
A: John Summit hasn’t played in New York City in quite some time, and this represented something that wasn’t being done in the city and a way to come in and fill a missing void in the market of a multi-day / multi-stage festival people can look forward to and make core memories at.
Q: What were some of the biggest challenges—and advantages—of throwing a festival in a city like NYC?
A: The biggest challenge in New York is making sure you have the right team surrounding you. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, and many nuances to consider when producing. Working with the Medium-Rare team ensures that we have many years of success producing at Randall’s Island on our side.
Q: How did Relentless Beats approach adapting its signature production style to match the energy and identity of Experts Only?
A: With Relentless Beats, we always aim to have top-level production, which complements Medium-Rare and Experts Only. They only want to go even further each time, so it’s a great partnership that yields a fantastic product for fans.
Q: How involved were you in curating the artist lineup, and what kind of experience were you hoping to create for fans on and off the dance floor?
A: The most important thing about the lineup was that the Experts Only team felt like it matched their brand and vision for the first year of the festival.
Q: Did you aim to highlight any rising talent or local NYC artists as part of the programming?
A: We will be producing events before and after the main event, and there will be a lot of local artists involved in helping us create this experience.
Q: What can fans expect from the Experts Only experience that sets it apart from other house and techno festivals?
A: For John Summit fans, this is a dream come true. He’s playing both days and has influenced other fantastic artists that his fans similarly follow to join him in creating an immersive experience through the eyes of experts only.
Q: Relentless Beats is known for building strong event brands—how does Experts Only align with your vision as a company?
A: We are in the business of bringing people together to spend time with the people they love, listening to and dancing to the music that they love.
Q: What was it like working with John Summit directly? How hands-on was he in shaping the event?
A: John was very involved in this event, paying close attention to every detail, and it’s really going to show in September.
Q: How do you approach balancing creative freedom with large-scale logistics in a collaboration like this?
A: It’s a very hands-on conversation that you have to manage throughout all of the planning and production of the event
Q: How important is community to you when building a festival like this—both in terms of fans and local culture?
A: It’s the reason that we do it. Without the communities of people who want to get together and Experts Only, this event wouldn’t take place. We are producing it for the community and the people of New York.
Q: Are there any efforts tied to sustainability, local vendors, or giving back to the community with this event?
A: We are partnered with FEMME HOUSE, which is a 501(c)(3) that fosters more equitable opportunities for women and gender-expansive individuals in the technical and behind-the-scenes areas of music. It’s a nice tie-in to the festival as LP Giobbi, who is on Experts Only’s Sunday lineup, co-founded the organization. You can check out more about it at https://www.thisisfemmehouse.com.
Q: With this major NYC debut, where do you see Experts Only Festival heading next? Is this the beginning of a larger tour or festival series?
A: Relentless Beats is only responsible for producing Experts Only in New York City, and we are excited to see what the future will bring and to get busy working on year two as soon as this one concludes
Q: Are there any upcoming Relentless Beats projects or partnerships that you’re especially excited about?
A: The weekend before Experts Only we have Goldrush in Arizona that takes place in an old western town. That is one of our marquee festivals, that has been around for a while now. Beyond that, I have some very exciting things in the pipeline that I can’t reveal yet, but the future is bright.
Q: What’s one moment during the planning of Experts Only that made you stop and think, “Yeah, this is going to be special”?
A: When Ben Shprits called me back and said, “We’re totally into this.” I just knew it was going to be something special because I knew I had the right partners interested in making it happen. These teams don’t miss.
