Stranger things have happened than a big-time actor pursuing a career in music. But nine actors from the same show? Seems impossible.
That is, until you look at the cast of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the fourth season of which arrived at midnight Friday (May 27) after nearly three years of wait time. Behind some of the sci-fi series’ most beloved characters — be it Dungeons and Dragons aficionado Mike Wheeler [Finn Wolfhard], teen heartthrob Steve Harrington [Joe Keery] or season three fan favorite Robin Buckley [Maya Hawke] — are nine actors who have formed bands, recorded albums and/or gone on concert tours in between hunting alternate dimension monsters.
Though nine music-making Stranger Things stars is quite a lot for just one show, it does make sense considering how much the series relies on music — especially hits from the 1980s, the decade in which it’s set. Using songs from the time period’s staple musicians like The Clash, Madonna, Wham! and The Who in addition to a stunningly creepy original score by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, music is often at the center of what’s going on in and out of the “Upside Down” — from Will and Jonathan’s bond over “Should I Stay or Should I Go” to Dustin and Suzie’s world-saving “Never Ending Story” performance (in fact, the Stranger Things season three soundtrack made it as far as No. 24 on the Billboard 200).
But while the show centers on retro classics, its resident musicians represent an expansive range of genres. From rock to pop, folk to R&B, discover which of your favorite Hawkins, Ind., residents are also real-life musicians below.
