Kaytranada Steps Into Elevator Music, Chicago's Tiny-Stage Series

Kaytranada is a Montreal producer, and he headlined an Elevator Music live DJ set to open 2026. The set was shared on January 1, 2026.

Kaytranada, the Haitian-born, Montreal-raised producer, played a DJ set for Elevator Music, the Chicago, Illinois series that films artists performing inside a working elevator. The set adds one of dance music's most recognizable names to a format built around tight quarters and passengers stepping in mid-groove.

What is Elevator Music?

Elevator Music started in Chicago in early 2023. A crew of longtime collaborators with backgrounds in music, film, commercial production and event planning filmed a one-hour pilot inside a real elevator to help one member land a gig overseas. The concept stuck. The team, which keeps a low profile, now books DJs and live acts into a functioning elevator set up inside a large warehouse, with a bar and room to dance outside the car. People step in and out while the set plays, and the footage is posted online.

The series publishes on YouTube under @ElevatorMusicLive, keeps a curator page on Apple Music, and runs an Instagram interview spin-off called Elevator Pitch. Past guests include Fatboy Slim, Takuya Nakamura, P1Harmony, DJ Lady L and the late Ron Carroll, and the team has also worked with Tate Modern. Not everything is house and techno, either: mariachi and polka bands have taken a turn in the car.

Kaytranada steps in

Paper reported that the Elevator Music team saw a Kaytranada booking as all but inevitable, and that he locked in his appearance just 24 hours ahead of time. The set is posted on the series' YouTube channel, where viewers can catch the full run.

From Port-au-Prince to Saint-Hubert

Kaytranada was born Louis Kevin Celestin on August 25, 1992, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. His family moved to Canada in 1993, and he grew up in Saint-Hubert, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec. Around age 15, his brother Louis-Philippe, who records as Lou Phelps, showed him music production software. The two still work together as the hip-hop duo The Celestics.

He first posted beats and remixes to SoundCloud as Kaytradamus, then started touring as Kaytranada in 2013. He even left high school to DJ and help support his family.

The résumé

His debut album, 99.9%, arrived on May 6, 2016, and won that year's Polaris Music Prize. It was the first hip-hop album to take the Canadian honor. Bubba followed on December 13, 2019, and at the 63rd Grammy Awards in March 2021 it won Best Dance/Electronic Album, while "10%" featuring Kali Uchis won Best Dance Recording. Timeless, his third album, landed June 7, 2024.

Along the way he has produced for or worked with Anderson .Paak, Syd, GoldLink, Aminé, Pharrell Williams, Big Sean, Childish Gambino, PinkPantheress and Ravyn Lenae. That crossover range is exactly why his DJ sets draw both dance heads and R&B fans.

Quick answers

Where is Kaytranada from? He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in Saint-Hubert, near Montreal.

What is Elevator Music? A Chicago-born series, launched in 2023, that films DJs and bands performing inside a working elevator.

Has Kaytranada won a Grammy? Yes, two: Best Dance/Electronic Album for Bubba and Best Dance Recording for "10%."

Sources

Paper — "Elevator Music Wants To Pop up at an Elevator Near You"

5 Magazine — "Step Inside: Behind the Scenes with Chicago's Elevator Music"

The Canadian Encyclopedia — "Kaytranada"