Stranger Things actor song: Djo, Maya Hawke, Finn Wolfhard, the actors who make music
Actors · Music · Djo, Maya Hawke, Finn Wolfhard
The best-known actor song from Stranger Things is called “End of Beginning,” and it is not the only one. The 2024 hit that invaded social media, “End of Beginning,” is sung by Steve Harrington. Or rather, by Joe Keery, under the name Djo. He is not the only one: half the group makes music. Here are the actors from the show who sing, and what they are worth.
The essentials
- The best-known: Joe Keery, a.k.a. Djo, “End of Beginning”
- The most prolific: Maya Hawke, trois albums
- The oldest: Finn Wolfhard, Calpurnia then The Aubreys
- The scene: Gaten Matarazzo, on Broadway
Contents
Joe Keery, a.k.a. Djo: the best-known actor song
Under the name Djo, Joe Keery has released psychedelic pop albums since 2019, with a synth, a treated voice and a wig on stage so that people do not recognize him. In 2024, “End of Beginning,” a track from his second album released two years earlier, explodes on social media: millions of videos on the chorus “And when I'm back in Chicago, I feel it,” and a first place in the streaming charts. His third album, in 2025, confirmed that it was not an accident.
For many fans, discovering that Djo was Steve was a shock: the character never sings on the show, except on the season 5 radio, where he holds the mic with no music.
The Steve Harrington T-shirt, a.k.a. Djo.
In the shopKids' Steve's Babies T-shirt24,90 €See the product
Maya Hawke
Robin, on screen, is also a folk singer: Maya Hawke has released three albums since 2020, written with musicians from the New York scene, on guitar and in a soft voice, between Joni Mitchell and film songs. She sings on tour between shoots, and she is the only one in the cast to have a real parallel stage career.
| Actor | Character | Music project | The title to listen to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Keery | Steve | Djo, psychedelic pop | "End of Beginning" |
| Maya Hawke | Robin | Folk, three albums | "Thérèse" |
| Finn Wolfhard | Mike | Calpurnia, then The Aubreys | "City Boy" |
| Gaten Matarazzo | Dustin | Musical theater, Broadway | Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd |
| Charlie Heaton | Jonathan | Comanechi drummer | English rock |
| Millie Bobby Brown | Eleven | No album | Covers in interviews |
Finn Wolfhard
Mike Wheeler played guitar before he was famous. Finn Wolfhard founded Calpurnia in 2017, a Vancouver indie-rock band that split in 2019, then The Aubreys, as a duo, with an album in 2021. In 2025, he released a first album under his own name. He has also directed videos and a first film, and acts in his friends' films when they ask.
Dustin already sings in the showGaten Matarazzo, a Broadway kid before the show, sings “The NeverEnding Story” with Suzie in the Season 3 finale. It is the only time an actor from the party sings in an episode.
The others
Charlie Heaton, Jonathan on screen, was the drummer of the English band Comanechi before acting. David Harbour has sung on stage in a musical in London. Millie Bobby Brown has announced a singing career several times without releasing an album; her interview covers circulate. Sadie Sink, trained in musical theater, sings in films, never under her own name.
Where to start
Djo's "End of Beginning," to understand the phenomenon; Maya Hawke's "Thérèse," for the most beautiful song of the lot; Calpurnia's "City Boy," to hear Mike Wheeler at fourteen. And Dustin and Suzie's duet, for a laugh.
The Robin figure, the folk singer.
In the shopLego Steve Harrington mini figure on a bike14,90 €See the product
The bands from before the show
Several actors were musicians before they were famous. Joe Keery co-founded in Chicago, in 2014, the psychedelic-rock band Post Animal, first on drums then on guitar and vocals, before leaving it in 2018 so as not to mix Steve's fame with the band's name. Charlie Heaton, who left for London at sixteen, was the drummer in Comanechi, a noise-rock band he toured with for eighteen months, then in Half Loon. Jamie Campbell Bower sang in Counterfeit with his brother Samuel.
Gaten Matarazzo and Sadie Sink come from musical theater: he played Gavroche in Les Misérables on Broadway, she had the title role in Annie. Caleb McLaughlin was young Simba in The Lion King. That generation of Broadway kids is why the show could, in 1985, have Dustin and Suzie really sing.
Who does what, in one table
| Actor | Music project | To listen |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Keery | Djo, since 2019; formerly Post Animal | "End of Beginning" (2022, viral in 2024), The Crux (2025) |
| Maya Hawke | Three folk albums | Blush (2020), Moss (2022), Chaos Angel (2024) |
| Finn Wolfhard | Calpurnia (2017-2019), The Aubreys, solo album | Happy Birthday (2025) |
| Jamie Campbell Bower | Counterfeit, then solo | His solo singles since 2020 |
| Charlie Heaton | Drummer | Comanechi, Half Loon, a Luxury Apartments track in 2024 |
| Gaten Matarazzo | Broadway musical | Les Misérables, Dear Evan Hansen, Sweeney Todd |
| Sadie Sink | Broadway musical | Annie, then John Proctor Is the Villain (theater, 2025) |
Why so many musicians in one show
It is not an accident. The show was cast in 2015 by Carmen Cuba, who auditioned more than a thousand children by having them read scenes from Stand by Me, and kept performers trained onstage, singers for many of them. Composers Dixon and Stein were hired before the casting, and their themes served as the soundtrack to the auditions. The music was in the show before the actors.
It has stayed there: Dustin and Suzie's duet, Eddie's solo, Robin's radio in 1987. And when the show stopped, music was for several actors the natural next step: Djo on a world tour in 2025, Maya Hawke in the studio, Finn Wolfhard solo, between the end of filming and the release of the last season.
Djo on tour, with Post Animal opening
Joe Keery's case sums up the loop. Having left Post Animal in 2018 to protect the band from Steve's fame, he found it again in 2025: Post Animal opened most of the dates of his world tour, launched after The Crux came out on April 4, 2025. The album cover was nominated at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
On stage, Djo often plays with a wig and glasses on his nose, so the audience listens before recognizing the actor. "End of Beginning," written about Chicago and the end of an era, has become, for many fans, Steve's farewell song even before the show ended.
The Season 3 poster.
In the shopScoops Ahoy Steve and Robin drawn pin9,90 €See the product
TakeawayDjo = Joe Keery = Steve; “End of Beginning” in 2024. Maya Hawke, three folk albums. Finn Wolfhard, from Calpurnia to a solo album. Dustin already sings in Season 3.
Frequently asked questions
Which Stranger Things actor sings?
Joe Keery, under the name Djo; Maya Hawke, in folk; Finn Wolfhard, with Calpurnia then The Aubreys; Gaten Matarazzo, on Broadway.
Who sings "End of Beginning"?
Djo, Joe Keery's stage name, Steve Harrington in the show. The track, released in 2022, exploded in 2024.
Does Millie Bobby Brown sing?
She has announced a singing career without releasing an album; only interview covers circulate.
Does an actor sing in the show?
Yes: Gaten Matarazzo and Gabriella Pizzolo sing "The NeverEnding Story" in the season 3 finale.
Is Charlie Heaton a musician?
Yes, a drummer: in Comanechi and Half Loon before the show, and on a Luxury Apartments track in 2024.
Which actor has an album out in 2025?
Two: Joe Keery, with The Crux under the name Djo, on April 4, 2025, and Finn Wolfhard, with his first solo album, Happy Birthday.
Does Jamie Campbell Bower make music?
Yes: singer of the band Counterfeit with his brother Samuel, he has released solo tracks since 2020, in parallel with Vecna.
Did an actor sing in the show itself?
Yes: Gaten Matarazzo and Gabriella Pizzolo sing "The NeverEnding Story" in 1985, and Joseph Quinn plays a large part of the "Master of Puppets" solo in 1986.