Hi there and welcome to another edition of So the Jerker on songwriting.

This is Simon, here as always with Brian, and joining us for episode 285 is a super talented

American actor and musician.

Though he's known worldwide for his role as Steve Harrington in the US TV phenomenon

Stranger Things, over the last few years, he's amply demonstrated that his

musical talents are not to be sniffed at either. As if to underscore that point, last year, his song

End of Beginning became a viral hit via TikTok, 18 months after its parent album was released,

topping the global Spotify chart, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and making the UK

top 10.

As this episode drops, he's just released his fantastic third album, The Crux, laid down

at the legendary electric lady studios in New York City, and co-produced with his frequent

collaborator, Adam Ty. And we had the pleasure of sitting down for a lovely chat with him

recently at his labels officers in London.

We are delighted to welcome the brilliant Joe Keary, aka Joe, to the show.

Joe was born in 1992 and raised in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

There was always a lot of music playing around the Keary household,

and Joe grew up on the legs of Bruce Springsteen, ACDC, James Taylor, and of course the Beatles.

He later got into the strokes and first took an interest in making his own music around seventh grade,

inspired in no small part by the 2003 Jack Black Movie School of Rock.

Needless to say, Joe also demonstrated a flair for acting from a young age.

After high school, he studied at the theatre school of DePaul University

in Chicago, where he got involved in the Windy City's lively music scene, ultimately joining

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