The singer/actor, who releases indie music under the moniker Djo, had a viral hit that broke the Hot 100’s Top 40 with ‘End of Beginning’
Before Joe Keery became a household name — known for his role (and hair!) of Steve Harrington on Stranger Things — was a local celebrity in the Chicago music scene.
The musician/actor, 31, was a member of the psych-rock group Post Animal, a friend of indie legends like Twin Peaks and Whitney, and a fixture in the local community for years — something indie music fans and Chicagoans alike have long treated as a fun fact. .
So it’s touching and a bit surreal for Keery that a song from his solo music project as Djo has gone viral and broken into the Top 40 on Board The Hot 100 is “End of Beginning,” his reflective song about his early 20s in Chicago.
“It’s pretty crazy to see the reaction to the song,” says Keery, noting that he originally released it over a year and a half ago on his 2022 album. TO DECIDE. “I haven’t completely moved on, but I’ve shut it down and I’m at peace with it, so seeing it take on a new life now has made me think back to that time.”
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The singer of “Roddy” says that he returns to the memories of “the gathering of all the bands of that time”. “Everyone favored each other,” he recalls. “Obviously you wanted to perform well and write something interesting, but it also felt right to go into it and do something for the love of creativity.”
On Djo, a dreamy synth-pop highlight on his sophomore album that recently took off thanks to TikTok, the musician sings about loving a time and a place and recognizing when to move on.
“And when I came back to Chicago, I feel it / Another version of me, I was in it / Waving goodbye to the end of the beginning,” he lulls the chorus as he tries to shake off the nostalgia and look to the future — which for him meant saying goodbye to DIY shows and the easy start of a successful career on the screen. (Near Stranger Thingshe also starred in a blockbuster Free Guyindie thriller Spree and, most recently, in the final season Fargoamong other projects.)
Joe Keery’s musical project as Djo.
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Now, Keery feels like he’s “halfway there” on his journey to staying present, as he advocates on “End of Beginning.” “I feel like maybe there are certain things that I was going through in that period of my life that I feel like maybe I’ve come to terms with or been able to resolve,” he shares. “But the challenge is never over and you’re always working to improve yourself and try to live a more fulfilling and happy life.”
Ultimately, it was rewarding to see how much the message resonated with fans, as he describes how “crazy” it felt when his friend/producer Adam Thein’s wife informed the two that she noticed the song had gone viral.
“I just make sure I tell myself every day to be very grateful,” he continues. “It’s crazy because I know things like this don’t happen very often and it’s something to be proud of and to appreciate.”
He explains that it also felt like “validation” for him as an artist, seeing Dju as a side, passion project. “Mostly it’s great that I wrote about something that felt really specific in my life and it turns out that a lot of people can relate to that same feeling,” shares the indie artist. “I had a really great experience with Stranger Things, obviously, but I wasn’t the writer of it. So this is my first attempt to write something and connect it with people.”
Keery continues, “The job now is to keep trying to do the same thing: keep writing songs and not get too ahead of yourself.”
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Joe Keery performs as Djo at Lollapalooza in Chicago in July 2022.
Scott Legato/Getty
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Another project will follow soon after “End of Beginning”. Djinn’s third studio album has yet to be officially announced, but he says it’s on the way and that it’s “definitely in his interest” to include a collaboration.
“Runner” singer admits he also has “aspirations” to tour after saying goodbye to Hawkins AV club “mom” after season five and final Stranger Things production of covers. The shows would mark his first live performances as Djo, and while he may be playing stages bigger than those at the Chicago DIY venues he frequented nearly a decade ago, he envisions bringing that energy back on the road.
His dream tour simply consists of “just me and all my friends in a big van traveling around” and making “the experience as fun as possible” for both himself and the fans.
It’s unclear who he’d like to peg as the opener at this point, but the suggestion of reuniting with Post Animal and bringing them on a run is nothing short of exciting. “That would be crazy fun. I will steal [the] idea,” he says with a laugh — as if the dream of “returning to Chicago” has the ability to take on new life in the present, just like “The End of the Beginning.”
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Source: HIS Education