“Fred’s fans are the best in the world,” said Leif Vollebeck, the opener for Fred Again..’s 3-show run at Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater. “They love music so much.”
Undoubtedly, that was the energy at Frost. Even in the heat, music fans came in droves to watch Gen Z’s favorite DJ spin songs about loneliness and love and turn them into communal artifacts.
Three nights at the 8,000-person capacity Northern California venue sold out in mere minutes, so it’s no wonder the crowd was worked up into a frenzy for Fred. Some concert-goers were experienced Fred devotees who had seen him 45+ times. Others were experiencing Fred Again.. for the first time. But when the lights came on, and Fred took the stage — starting the show simply sitting at a piano with a mic — multiple cameras projected his face onscreen. We were enraptured as if it was the first time.
Perhaps this is part of Fred’s charm: his ability to make every show feel like your first, which goes to explain his meteoric rise to fame and his cultish following of music lovers.
But just how did this DJ take over the internet and go from small shows to headlining stadiums seemingly out of nowhere?
Fred Again..’s Meteoric Rise: How did Fred Again.. Get So Famous?
It’s hard to believe that Fred Again..’s landmark Boiler Room performance was only two years ago. Boiler Room is to EDM artists and DJs what Tiny Desk is to indie and alt performers — it can change your life overnight.
But that’s not to say that Fred is an overnight success. He’s been working on his music since he was a kid. It just didn’t always sound like this.
Before shifting to pop music and later EDM, Fred Again.. was a classical composer. Yup — the man making beats on a computer studied classical music. But it’s this bedrock, not to mention classical music’s discipline, the precision, and technical skills that are drilled into you (I’ve seen Whiplash), that gives him a solid foundation in the genre.
It also doesn’t hurt that his vision and his sound were supported by none other than Brian Eno — his godfather. That’s right, Fred Again.. is a nepo baby. His family are wealthy British old money and while his parents aren’t in the creative industries, he’s related to the creators of the James Bond franchise.
If this surprises you, it’s because Fred manages to stay humble and down to earth. While I love some nepo babies’s eccentricities — Dakota Johnson talking about her need for 10 hours of sleep is unforgettable — Fred.. has built a dedicated fanbase by putting his head down and churning out song after song.
But how did he transition from classical music to the DJ scene? With Brian Eno as his mentor, he’s always been immersed in the music industry and collaborated with megastars in pop music. He’s listed on the credits for people from Ed Sheeran to Skrillex. These aren’t just business relationships, they’re friendships that he maintains today. With those accolades and a fine reputation, he became a massive name behind the scenes while building his own audience.
During the early days of the pandemic, his expertise at forging connections was channeled into livestream DJ sets. It can be tough to sustain the energy of a DJ set when there’s no real audience, but Fred’s enthusiasm and genuine joy on stage can’t help but draw people in. Even over livestreams, it’s contagious.
Dropping new tracks about COVID during the pandemic made Fred Again.. a household name — literally. By the time people were finally venturing out of their homes, he was booking impressive gigs like Coachella. Playing Coachella as your first US show is unheard of. But this supercharged his rise to superstardom. Combined with the now-legendary Boiler Room set around the same time? The rest is history.
Where to see Fred Again.. — And how to get Fred Again.. Tickets
Cut to: 2024. With his unconventional background, it should be no surprise that Fred Again.. continues to take audacious risks. And they’ve all paid off. And rejecting industry norms makes him even more GOATed to Gen Z fans who are disillusioned with industry politics and crave artists who feel real.
Instead of tours and frequent collaborations, he does is pop up shows. Everything Fred Again.. does feels instantaneous — even if they take months of planning.
Take his upcoming show at the LA Memorial Coliseum, for example. Announced just days before curtains, Fred Again.. sold out the 77,000-capacity venue close to instantaneously. Despite the detailed planning, he teased the performance just days before announcing the show. The June 14th show is his first stadium show ever and according to Fred’s social media it promises to be “the maddest live show we’ve ever tried to do so far.”
It follows another landmark show for the DJ, who recently played San Francisco’s Civic Plaza with frequent collaborator and mentor — Skrillex. As the largest public space in San Francisco’s downtown, Civic Plaza has a 20,000 capacity. The entire crowd was alive with Fred’s incandescent energy. Especially when he brought out surprise guest, Anderson .Paak to perform their brand-new song, “places to be.”
The June 12th show might also include surprise guests from collaborators and friends. But even if it’s just Fred.. and his decks, there’s nothing like his presence on stage. And after seeing him once, you’ll want to see him Again, and Again, and Again.
