In Spring 2025, expect a mini Dutch invasion to hit American shores. Former Eurovision contestant, singer, rapper, and TikTok sensation Joost Klein, will be touring the U.S. with sold out concerts in New York City on March 31st and April 1st, 2025.
Wait — you might not know who Joost Klein is yet. That’s okay, but since he’s already found widespread commercial success in Western Europe, you may soon find Joost becoming a household name in North America.
Hailing from Friesland, Netherlands, Klein began his career on YouTube in 2008, when he was just 11 years old, under the username EenhoornJoost. The channel mostly consisted of comedy sketches, but occasionally revealed aspects of Klein’s Life as a young orphan. Klein lost both of his parents within a year of one another and found solace on the video platform as he bounced between foster care and living with older siblings
Faced with bullying, Klein dropped out of school to pursue his creative endeavors, and the gamble paid off. His initial transition from YouTube to music began with Dutch hip-hop, and by the time 2019 rolled around, Joost had already performed at some of the Netherlands top music festivals such as PinkPop and Lowlands.
Without traditional promotional backing of a major record label, Klein continued to grow, scoring a number one single in Germany and Austria with German rapper Ski Aggu and comedian Otto Waalkes in 2023. This led to his admission to Eurovision — an annual pop music contest broadcasted in 37 countries worldwide — where he made it to the semifinals with his powerful performance of his song “Europapa,” which he dedicated to his parents. Klein certainly stood out among his Eurovision peers — he wore a custom-made blue suit with huge pointy shoulders, a retro mustache, and a platinum blond mullet.
His music has evolved from the classic Dutch hip-hop sound into gabber pop, a subgenre of hardcore techno and electronic body music (EBM). The distinctly Dutch sound developed from the 1990s Netherlands rave scene and has been making a small comeback alongside its corresponding dance, the “Hakken.” Despite Klein’s shift in music style, he still retains the appeal of vulnerability, laying his trauma bare in his 2022 album “Fryslan” with his song “Florida 2009.”
American fans have since started to form communities online. One Discord group in particular had a single mission: to bring Klein to the U.S. under the banner Joost Klein USA, which they promoted on TikTok and Instagram.
This past August, I decided to check out Klein for myself and traveled to the Dicky Woodstock Popfestival in Steenwijkerwold, an hour away from Joost’s hometown of Friesland. Klein took the festival stage at around 11 p.m. and did not disappoint. During the intense set, I witnessed a few festival attendees doing the Hakken, just as Klein can be seen doing in TikTok videos and in concert. That was in between trying not to get caught up in the mosh pit, which Joost 100% encourages. After his set was over, I genuinely felt as if I had just finished an exhilarating workout.
Meanwhile, a miracle unfolded. Joost was planning to do a mini tour in the U.S.! While on the road, I managed to snag tickets for both of his NYC shows. Within minutes, both NYC and Los Angeles concerts were completely sold out.
While waiting for his spring concerts, check out Joost’s latest two singles. “Trafik!” is a collaboration with Finnish singer Käärjïä, and Joost’s own single “Filthy Dog” (AKA “Schweinhund”), both on Spotify. So who is Joost Klein? In April 2025, Americans will soon find out. Like another one of Joost’s songs, one can only “Droom Groot” — Dutch for “dream big.”
