Local DJ Brings House Music to St. Augustine

By Emily Braunstein

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. — Though clubbing doesn’t exactly come to mind when people hear St. Augustine, this local DJ is bringing the EDM and house music scene to the city.

Jordan Jurusz, AKA J Train, graduated from Flagler College in 2023. He DJs every weekend at Bourbon Street, a local bar located at 66 Hypolita St., as well as other venues around the St. Augustine and Jacksonville area.

“I’m the person that needs to uplift the crowd and get them to have the best time they could possibly have,” Jurusz said.

Growing up in New Jersey, Jurusz’s career began two years ago, listening to EDM and house music every single day with his friends, which inspired him to start making his own mixes.

“After I learned and figured out how to mix and DJ, I wanted to take it to the next level and actually make my own type of songs and remixes from scratch,” Jurusz said.

What began as a beachside hobby with friends eventually evolved into a serious gig and genuine interest in music production.

“One thing led to another, and I fell in love with it,” Jurusz said.

J Train’s name is often seen headlining at venues in St. Augustine, playing for college students and young adults interested in live EDM music and the local bar scene. In October, J Train opened for Sompacho in Jacksonville, a tech house producer who works for Insomniac Records, the biggest EDM company in the world.

“I like DJing so much that I don’t really care about the popularity part— I never expected it,” Jurusz said. “It’s just so fun to me. I never get tired of it.”

While most EDM and house music sets are concentrated in larger cities, interest in the genre is rapidly growing amongst college students in smaller cities and campus communities. This is leading to EDM being played at more bars, events, and concert venues across Northeast Florida.

“Over the years, I learned how to read the crowd and play music tailored to the people in front of me,” Jurusz said. “The best feeling is just seeing people having a great time; I feed off of that energy,”

J Train mixes house music remixes with songs that people can sing along with to match the crowd’s vibe, which is key for areas where house music is not mainstream.

“I think that introduces people into what house music really is because people around here don’t really know what it is,” Jurusz said. “It’s a good stepping stone to introduce that genre.”

Initially inspired by his cousin’s nickname for him, Jurusz’s DJ name was his Snapchat username in high school. Once people began referring to him as J Train, it eventually stuck and became his stage name.

J Train is aiming to have a remix with a signed artist in two years from now and play his first festival within four years from now. While DJing is mostly a hobby for him for now, he’s trying to build it into a career, and his ultimate goal is to have a remix with the DJ Duo that first inspired him, Two Brothers.

“They inspired me to make like music,” Jurusz said. “They basically just got me into this whole thing.”