Joseph “Joe” David Keery, known musically as Djo (pronounced like “Joe”), was born April 24, 1992, in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He is an American actor and musician. He is the second of five children in a creatively inclined family. His mother was a teacher, and his father an architect — and from a young age Joe was surrounded by both exposure to the arts and encouragement to pursue them. Growing up, he attended local schools in Newburyport, and participated in arts programs including “Theater in the Open,” a performing‐arts camp. It was in high school that his sister (Caroline, who is two years older) urged him toward acting, which helped set him on the dual path of performance and creativity. After high school, he went to DePaul University in Chicago to study acting, graduating in 2014 with a BFA degree. While acting has become what many know him for (especially from Stranger Things, where he plays Steve Harrington), music has always been a parallel passion for Joe. Before launching his solo music under the name Djo, he was part of the Chicago psychedelic rock band Post Animal. In that band he played guitar, drums, some vocals, and was involved in their early releases. In 2019, recognizing both the opportunity and challenge of being known primarily as an actor, he created Djo as a solo musical persona — in part to separate the music from his acting identity. On the personal side, besides his family background, Keery is relatively private.
Four: Roddy
“Roddy” was the debut single released by Djo (Joe Keery) on July 19, 2019, marking his official step into music as a solo artist outside his work with the band Post Animal. The track served as the world’s first introduction to his solo project, ahead of his debut album Twenty Twenty (2019). Thematically, the song dives into feelings of alienation and social anxiety, as Djo sings about struggling to find belonging and feeling like an outsider while the world moves forward. The lyrics reflect both a personal vulnerability and a universal experience, especially in a digital era where self-image and connection often feel fragmented. It has garnered over 105M streams on spotify and over 1.9M views on YouTube. Critics and fans alike noted how bold the single was in carving a unique identity for Keery — separating him from simply being seen as “the actor from Stranger Things.” “Roddy” set the tone for the experimental, nostalgic-yet-modern sound that would come to define Djo’s music, and it remains a fan favorite as the song that began his journey as a solo musician. Djo’s debut single “Roddy” was written by Joe Keery himself and produced in collaboration with Adam Thein.
FYI
- Djo has spoken in interviews of dealing with impostor syndrome, anxiety, the tension of being recognized as an actor while wanting to be taken seriously as a musician, and the challenge of balancing both arts.
Three: Basic Being Basic
“Basic Being Basic” is the lead single from Djo’s (Joe Keery’s) third studio album, The Crux, released on January 24, 2025. It was written and produced by Joe Keery together with his frequent collaborator Adam Thein, and recorded at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Lyrically and thematically, “Basic Being Basic” is pretty biting. It’s a critique of performative behavior, especially in online culture and how people try so hard not to seem basic, which sometimes ironically makes them more basic. It has garnered over 37M streams on spotify and over 3.2M views on YouTube. One especially interesting thing: critics have pointed out how the song balances humor and commentary. Some lines are sarcastic, others more earnest. In interview / review pieces, people note that though the song is playful, there’s a deeper layer — the fear of losing authenticity, the anxiety of being judged by façade over substance. As for reception and impact, it’s been praised for its songwriting, catchy hook, production, and how it encapsulates modern struggles — balancing image vs. reality, pressure to perform, etc. People say it’s fun, witty, with critical bite. It’s also seen as a strong indicator of what The Crux album will sound like in full: more expansive, emotionally complex, and less lo-fi bedroom pop.
Two: Carry The Name
“Carry The Name” is a single released by Joe Keery under his musical alias Djo on September 8, 2025. It arrived as the first of a trio of surprise singles (“Carry The Name”, “It’s Over”, “Awake”) ahead of the release of The Crux Deluxe, a companion / deluxe version of his third album The Crux. Though “Carry The Name” was recorded during the same sessions as The Crux, it didn’t make the cut on the original version of the album — it was held back and then released independently beforehand. It has garnered over 1.7M streams on spotify and over 83K views on YouTube. From a production perspective, Joe Keery (Djo) is credited as writer, and he worked with his collaborator Adam Thein. Label wise, it was released via AWAL. The song fits into The Crux Deluxe era — it’s included as track 4 in the deluxe version. Critics have pointed out how “Carry The Name” shows both continuity (themes of loss, longing, emotional reflection) and growth — more mature lyricism, more nuanced production. The vibe is nostalgic, but introspective — the emotional core of the song is about still carrying someone’s name (metaphorically), seeing reminders of them in daily life, even after the relationship is over. It also marks part of a burst of creativity by Djo in mid-2025, releasing new material quickly after The Crux, which many saw as ambitious and satisfying to longtime fans.
Awards/Nominations
- Joe Keery, also known as Djo, has earned recognition both as an actor and a musician. In 2017, he won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for his role in Stranger Things, with additional SAG nominations in 2018 and 2020 for the same category.
- In 2022, he received a Hollywood Critics Association TV Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama.
- By 2024, his range of work expanded further as he was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Social Music Star, and an Astra TV Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie for Fargo. On the music side, his viral hit “End of Beginning” earned him major nominations, including Top Rock Song at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards and Best International Song at the 2025 Brit Awards, cementing his growing influence as both an acclaimed actor and a rising musician.
Discography
- Twenty Twenty (2019)
- Decide (2022)
- The Crux (2025)
- The Crux Deluxe (2025)
One: End of Beginning
“End of Beginning” is a song from Joe Keery’s second studio album Decide, originally released on September 16, 2022, as the sixth track. It didn’t immediately blow up — two years later, in early 2024, it started gaining major traction, especially on TikTok, where clips using a lyric of the song became popular. The fan-momentum led to its release as a single on March 1, 2024, even though the song had been available for streaming since 2022. It has garnered over 1.6B streams on spotify and over 40M views on YouTube. Its production was handled by Joe Keery himself together with Adam Thein. Lyrically it is deeply personal: the song reflects on transitions in life, longing for past versions of oneself, the pull of home, and how certain identities persist even when one changes environment or direction. In terms of commercial performance, “End of Beginning” was Djo’s first track to enter the Billboard Hot 100 (USA), debuting at #51, and then peaking at #11 after several weeks. In the UK, it debuted at #100 on the Official Singles Chart in mid-February 2024, then climbed and eventually hit #4 in March 2024. The song also went viral globally on streaming platforms — on Spotify, TikTok, etc. It has charted in 41 countries and earned certifications in nearly 20 nations. Because of this success, it has become his signature track, widely recognized as his biggest hit. Joe Keery has commented on how meaningful this song’s success has been to him — as an artist separate from his acting identity. The emotional weight, vulnerability, and personal nature of “End of Beginning” seem to resonate with listeners deeply, especially those experiencing life changes.