On a brisk Tuesday afternoon in New York’s West Village, Joe Keery enjoys a rare moment at home while preparing green tea in his cozy apartment. Despite the warm, inviting environment filled with guitars, memorabilia, and a drawing from his nieces, Keery reflects on how little time he has spent there this year due to his demanding schedule. The actor and musician is preparing to embark soon on his fall tour but takes some time to focus on what has defined much of 2024 for him: his evolving career as the alt-rock artist Djo and the release of his new project, The Crux Deluxe.
From Viral Success to Touring Worldwide with Djo
Keery’s musical breakthrough this year came with his synth-pop hit End of Beginning, which climbed to No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking his first entry on the chart. Building on this momentum, he released The Crux in April, a full-length album steeped in classic rock influences and recorded at the historic Electric Lady Studios in New York. The album’s lead single, Basic Being Basic, topped the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in July, securing Keery’s first No. 1 hit on a Billboard chart.
His relentless touring schedule has taken him across the globe, from performing at the Laneway Festival in Australia to headlining his own shows and playing before tens of thousands at Lollapalooza in Chicago. These performances have solidified Keery’s standing as a serious musician separate from his acting career, with live shows that have grown progressively stronger throughout the year.
The Surprise Release of The Crux Deluxe Expands His Musical Vision
On September 12, Keery released The Crux Deluxe, a 12-track surprise album that expands the musical universe of his previous release. Describing it as a “companion piece,” Keery explains that the deluxe album contains songs from the same creative period as the original but explores a more restless and varied sound.
The songs are all from the same period — it’s like a companion piece,
he shares.
It can be like the punk little brother of The Crux, where it’s just a little bit more all over the place.
Initially, Keery and his co-producer Adam Thein had over two dozen song candidates for the spring release, each refined with a strict motto during recording: finish songs to at least 80%, or they don’t count. The deluxe project includes tracks that didn’t make the initial cut but were too good to remain unheard, polished in additional sessions at Electric Lady Studios by May, including minor adjustments like adding verses or fixing vocals while maintaining the original spirit.
Exploring Themes and Musical Styles in The Crux Deluxe
The Crux Deluxe showcases Keery’s range and willingness to experiment. For example, Love Can’t Break the Spell reflects the emotional stages of grief after a breakup, drawing on the style of Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile, Grime of the World channels garage rock energy, and Purgatory Silverstar surprises listeners with its shifting sound—from plucked guitar to a Red Hot Chili Peppers-style bridge, culminating in a progressive rock journey reminiscent of Rush or The Who.
The album’s closer, Awake, combines powerful guitar riffs with lyrics focused more on sound and rhythm than explicit meaning. In his own words,
I had read something about John Lennon for ‘I Am the Walrus,’ and [how] those are nonsense lyrics,
Keery explains.
[‘Awake’] was going to be on the album originally. A lot of people were like, ‘Those are my favorite lyrics you’ve ever written.’ It’s like, ‘There you f–king go. Maybe you should let your subconscious do a little bit more of the work.’ You want to write something that’s profound or that connects with people, but there are a million different ways to do that.
Another standout is Mr. Mountebank, which replaced the track Egg from the original album. This song delves into electro-pop, influenced partially by the viral success of End of Beginning. Keery humorously acknowledges the pressure that success brought, admitting to feeling
kind of up my own ass.
The track oscillates between abstract metaphor and candid reflections on relationships, the music industry, and personal struggles, revealing Keery’s desire to be authentic:
I want to be open,
he admits,
It’s just, sometimes you’re like, ‘What the hell am I trying to say? What the hell is this song about? Am I repeating myself?’ It’s less of being scared as it is figuring out what you really feel and trying to get honest with yourself.
Navigating Pressure and Growth in Music and Performance
Following the viral moment of End of Beginning, Keery felt increased pressure for the rollout of The Crux in spring 2024. Previously, he had maintained a clear separation between his music and his acting persona—donning wigs, sunglasses, and jumpsuits for anonymity during live shows. However, the success of his music made such disguises impossible.
Keery shares,
I felt more pressure — I was putting it on myself, for sure,
adding,
The album was the first thing out after ‘End of Beginning’ had done well, so it’s like, ‘How do you follow something like that up?’
As time has passed and he’s toured internationally, this tension has eased. A highlight for Keery has been performing alongside old friends and fellow musicians such as psych-rock band Post Animal, with whom he toured earlier in his career before rejoining this year. He praises the improvement that live experience brings:
I love that you get better — you really do,
he says.
Bit by bit, you start to chip away at the thing. The shows that we were doing at the end of this run, there’s no way we could’ve done that at the beginning.
Closing a Defining Chapter as Stranger Things Finale Approaches
With the final season of Stranger Things scheduled for release on New Year’s Eve and his Another Bite Tour ending in October, Keery finds himself at a crossroads, wrapping up significant periods of both his acting and music careers by the close of 2025. Reflecting on the conclusion of the hit Netflix series that launched him to fame as Steve Harrington, he remarks,
It was bittersweet. Everything you think [it would be], that’s pretty much exactly how it felt.
Currently, Keery has no confirmed acting projects following the series finale, though he recently appeared in the music video for Tame Impala’s new single Loser. His plans for 2026 remain open, aside from some slated tour dates in South America during March. He describes this transition as the end of a major phase in his life:
I’m at the end of this big chapter,
he says, leaning back in his apartment.
It’d be fun to reinvigorate myself and have a project that would do that. I would be really grateful for that.
Looking Ahead: Creative Freedom and New Musical Directions
Music continues to be Keery’s main focus as he contemplates what comes next. He and Adam Thein have already begun brainstorming new material during recent studio sessions at Electric Lady. At home, he is excited to explore his creative setup, soon enhanced by the addition of his first ever piano. As an independent artist releasing music through AWAL, Keery appreciates the autonomy this system offers, allowing him to adapt his career goals flexibly.
He shares,
It’s been able to give me autonomy over things that I want to do and it’s very liberating,
pointing to The Crux Deluxe as a prime example.
I’m excited to surprise people. I think there has been a core group of audience members who have lived with [The Crux] for the summer, and a gift you’re not expecting is one of the best gifts.
