The lineup for the 2022 Lollapalooza music festival hit social media this week. The extensive list of performers scheduled to appear at the four-day event at Chicago’s Grant Park reads like a who’s who in the music industry. But, tucked among big names like Metallica, Green Day, Dua Lipa and Charli XCX sits David Solomon.
Solomon’s presence on the Lollapolooza billing there doesn’t quite match up to where you’ll typically find his name. As CEO of Goldman Sachs, Solomon sits on the top rung of one of the world’s largest investment firms. In his work wardrobe, full of suits and power ties, he looks like arguably the last person you’d even see attending a music festival, let alone performing at one.
Yet, there’s more than meets the eye (and ears) to the 60-year-old businessman — like the fact that he has a side hustle as a disc jockey and used to go by the pseudonym DJ D-Sol. That’s right, in addition to crunching numbers on spreadsheets all day, DJ D-Sol spends his free time spinning and mixing tracks for people who like to party.
These days, Solomon uses his own name for his gigs and has even turned his hobby into a way to help others. He donates all of his earnings from performances, including high-profile spots at Sports Illustrated The Party, at the national Amazon conference and more events, according to the posts he shares on social media, including Facebook.
Solomon also shared his joy over being included in Lollapalooza’s lineup on his Facebook page.
“Excited to play Lollapalooza for the first time this summer,” Solomon posted. “Proceeds benefit various nonprofits in partnership with Payback Records.”
Payback Records, which was founded by Solomon in 2018, works to “raise meaningful funds for organizations working on the frontlines of America’s addiction epidemic,” according to its website. As part of its efforts, Payback recently paired Solomon and musician Robbie Jay to produce a single called “Heatwave,” which can be streamed on Spotify and other services now. Solomon also shared the track on Facebook.
Has the buttoned-down broker ever worried about how his hobby could affect his reputation in the business world? In a December 2021 interview on Nic Harcourt’s “Sound of Success” podcast, Soloman confessed he’s had moments of doubt.
“There were all sorts of people telling me, ‘Oh, you can’t do that. It’ll hurt your chances, you know, your career, professionally,” he said. “I’ve got this really analytical side to my mind that really helps me with my business/professional career. But, I’ve really never had a lot of opportunities in my life to stimulate kind of an artistic side of my brain. And, I actually find it really makes me feel good.”
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
