Jivan Calderone
I met Jivan Calderone through my close college friend who had just been selected into the fraternity. The two of them had spent each summer together in Montauk, New York, since childhood, bonding over surf camp and ocean waves.
At first, I wasn’t sure where I stood with Jivan. He hardly spoke to me, and I assumed he just wasn’t a fan. It had me in unfamiliar territory, which threw me off. But over time, I realized he wasn’t distant, just reserved. A quiet kid with a sharp mind, always: observing, learning, refining. What makes Jivan standout from just his incredible talents in the studio, he is also a very talented extreme sport athlete. A massive barrel, a steep mountain chute, a tight bike trail weaving through the woods, daunting to most, second nature to Jivan.
Jivan is now in his final semester at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Music, on the verge of making his dream a reality, a full-time DJ and producer. His obsession with perfecting his craft was obvious, but I didn’t fully understand the depth of his passion until one late summer night.
After a long summer night out, I asked Jivan if he’d be down to play a private set for me and a friend. Just a casual request, no expectations. Now, let me put this in perspective, I’ve seen over 300+ DJs perform in my life. But that night, that private set, it was one of the best I’d ever witnessed.
Jivan doesn’t play for money. He doesn’t play for clout. He plays because he loves music. You can hear it in the transitions, the energy, the attention to every beat. It reminded me of a professional athlete who still plays for the pure love of the game, the ones who respect the legends before them and push themselves to perform at the highest level. That stuck with me.
Since I was already handling social media work for Beau Cruz, I figured, why not help showcase Jivan to the world as well. His talent is a future IPO that everyone is going to want to get their hands on. By the end of the summer, Jivan went from spinning at a mess around after-hours set, to opening for The Martinez Brothers at The Surf Lodge. Just weeks separated those two historic moments in Jivan’s young ever-growing career.
Since that show, Jivan has gone on to open for some of the biggest names in the game: Damian Lazarus, Michael Bibi, Victor Calderone, Chase West. This is just the beginning for him. The world doesn’t know his name yet, but soon you’ll be asking for his sets over and over again.
