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From Burger Joint to Big Screen
During a shift at DMK Burger Bar in Chicago, Joe Keery learned that he had booked the role of Steve Harrington in Netflix’s new series, Stranger Things. The then 23-year-old was mostly just excited about not working at a restaurant anymore, as he told Jimmy Fallon in a 2023 interview, and he never would again following the show’s insane mainstream success and the fame that came along with it. But even as his star was beginning to rise in Hollywood, Keery was digging his roots into the Chicago music scene.
Post Animal: Keery’s Musical Roots
Keery found an initial interest in playing music in middle school, taking up drums and eventually joining the Chicago-based prog-rock band, Post Animal. Originally formed in 2014 by Dalton Allison, Matt Williams, and Jake Hirschland, Keery was brought into the band a year later by Williams, his friend and former DMK Burger Bar coworker. When a spot opened up as guitarist, Keery took up the mantle, with Wes Toledo taking his spot at drummer and Javi Reyes topping off the six-piece ensemble.
Between his time on the show and his other acting projects, Keery was jamming out. Post Animal delivered their first record, Post Animal Perform the Most Curious Water Activities, in 2015, and were quick on their feet to work on a second. When he wasn’t cooking up InnerSpeaker-esque hits with the guys, he was dipping into the pool of solo projects, releasing tracks such as “Slowbro” and “I’m Not Smart” under the moniker Cool Cool Cool.
Actor/Artist: Leaving Post Animal & The Birth of Djo
Keery quickly went from 0 to 60, having to balance calls to set with calls to the studio. Post Animal started to gain some traction, performing at festivals like Daytrotter and collaborating with the likes of Twin Peaks. Keery’s involvement in Stranger Things cast extra attention on the band. This notoriety, unfortunately, started to take a turn for the worse. Audience members at their shows would call out to Steve Harrington while the band was performing, or go to their shows just to see Keery only to be disappointed when schedule conflicts prevented him from attending.
Between the release of the band’s third album, When I Think of You in a Castle, and Stranger Things’ third season, Keery made the decision to step away from Post Animal, wanting the band to be known for their talents, not just in association with his acting career. But Joe Keery wasn’t done with music. Shortly after the premiere of Stranger Things’ third season, Keery posted a cryptic Instagram post seemingly teasing… something. About two weeks later, on July 19, 2019, “Roddy” appeared on music platforms — a four-minute-long psych-rock track packed with something new to notice every time you listen to it. The single’s cover donned a black and white photo of a familiar-looking face sporting a mustache, shaggy wig, and sunglasses. The artist? Djo. Just those three letters, pronounced like the name Joe.
The Rise of Djo & The Disguise That Made It Possible
In August 2019, Djo dropped a second single, a spacey love song titled “Chateau (Feel Alright).” At the end of the month, he dropped another heater — one of my personal favorites — “Mortal Projections.” Release after release had people jonesing for a record, and Djo later scratched that itch with his freshman album, Twenty Twenty, in September of 2019. The album is a twelve-song pileup of gritty, guitar-heavy, multifaceted psych-rock songs — with notable standouts such as “Personal Lies” and “Flash Mountain” — that spoke for itself despite its bedroom cultivation and understated publicity.
To maintain his anonymity, Djo started touring — often with collaborators like Adam Thein or former Post Animal bandmates like Javi Reyes and Jake Hirschland — in a familiar disguise of a wig and sunglasses. He and his fellow performers would wear matching disguises and ensembles, further blurring their identities. The eclectic disguises almost made it hard to tell everyone apart, allowing listeners to focus more on the music than on who was performing it. Not only did this allow everyone to appreciate the music as a whole, but it allowed Keery to linger behind the Djo persona and let his work sink or swim on its own merits.
Breakthrough: The Mask Falls
Keery hit 2020 at a sprint, working on Spree, FreeGuy, and StrangerThings, while also managing a brief reunion with Post Animal and more Djo releases. In September, Djo released his fourth single “Keep Your Head Up,” a more upbeat funk-rock tune, to keep listeners satiated. By 2022, Djo was performing at music festivals like Shaky Knees in Atlanta, Bottlerock Napa Valley, and Lollapalooza — which drew a massive crowd. On his new social media accounts dedicated to his solo project — @djotime — Djo began to tease new music with quirky office-core visuals and an even longer, shaggier wig. By June, “Change” dropped. It’s sound transitioned from raw, guitar-centric instrumentals to David Byrne-adjacent experimental synthpop, clueing listeners that a new era was in store. Come September, Djo dropped his sophomore album DECIDE. Within the thirteen-song record were tracks like “On and On” which mocked social media and “Half Life,” which narrated Djo’s gripe with fame. Nestled right in the middle of the tracklist was the sleeper hit, “End of Beginning” — Djo’s love letter to his twenties and his realization that the early days were over.
By 2024, Keery was drifting around film sets — filming Finalmente L’Alba, Fargo, and Marmalade all the while wrapping up Stranger Things’ fifth and final season. “End of Beginning” had skyrocketed to one billion streams thanks to TikTok working in mysterious ways. With the added attention, people were starting to see past the charade — the Joe Keery cat was officially out of the wig-and-sunglasses bag. In came the wave of surprised comments that “Steve Harrington is Djo” and “the guy from Stranger Things sings the Chicago song.” By the time of his next talk show appearances, Keery embraced the reveal, citing its inevitability but thankful that the anonymity served its purpose while it lasted.
Full Circle: Joe Keery as Djo
It’s now 2025, and Djo has a new single — “Basic Being Basic” — out, an album — The Crux — on the way, and a world tour — The Back On You World Tour with Post Animal — on the horizon. He’s done a surprise show at Music Hall Williamsburg, the location of one of his first-ever live performances under his solo act, and even played his first international performances in Australia and New Zealand for Laneway Festival. There, sea-like crowds of people stood under the beating sun as he sang to them and he took out his inner ear to listen to them sing back. There’s a certain unabashedness to his stage presence and a clear excitement in Keery that’s infectious. Joe is Djo. No obstructions.
