“Why is everyone so afraid to dance?”

A question that Joey Valence & Brae posed to spark the creation of their third album, “HYPERYOUTH”. Calling back to early 2000’s dance pop and club music, HYPERYOUTH explores themes of self-discovery, growing up, and party culture. With samples and interpolations from the likes of Skrillex, the Chemical Brothers, and Outkast, the record is a high-energy fusion of Y2K nostalgia and modern production that encapsulates the chaos of youth. Visually, their creative direction for this album has enhanced this feeling even further, with their music videos captured almost entirely on retro camcorders and film. Joey Valence & Brae’s 2025 HYPERYOUTH tour has opened up a safe space for fans to cut loose and be whoever they want to be. At a JVB show, no one is afraid to dance.

The duo established 10 commandments for fans who are attending the tour.

DANCING IS MANDATORY.
WEAR A COOL OUTFIT.
NO EGOS ALLOWED.
LIVE IN THE MOMENT.
NO VIP TICKETS.
SCREAM THE LYRICS.
MOSH PITS REQUIRED.
BRING A FRIEND.
MAKE A FRIEND.
LEAVE COVERED IN SWEAT.

And the fans obliged.

Before the duo hit the stage, their DJ, EWOOK, came out and turned the crowd up. He cycled through a mix of music that inspired Joey & Brae during the creation of HYPERYOUTH, included tracks like ‘Die Young’ by Kesha, ‘Just Dance’ by Lady Gaga, and Missy Elliot’s ‘Lose Control’. EWOOK transitioned ‘Rollin’ by Limp Bizkit into ‘HYPERYOUTH’, the title track of the album, just as JVB came out onto the stage. The song’s intro echoed through the venue, “Does growing up change your body, or also your soul?” Joey & Brae took their places on their platforms at the edge of the stage overlooking the crowd, and as the beat dropped, the crowd burst with screams and energy. They opened with the first 3 songs of HYPERYOUTH, even opening their first of many mandatory mosh pits during ‘GIVE IT TO ME’. Their setlist cycled through a mix of HYPERYOUTH songs and older music, including fan favorites like ‘OK’ and ‘HOOLIGANG’. Though the show was almost entirely high-energy, it also contained raw moments of vulnerability that perfectly reflected the duality of youth – the tension between optimism for the future and fear of the unknown.

Joey & Brae thanked the crowd and went offstage after ‘PUNK TACTICS’, but the crowd didn’t budge. The beat of ‘THE BADDEST’ started up and they ran back out onto the stage, joined by their openers, AG Club. The energy from the crowd was the most electric it had been all night, and that is truly saying something. If they had been performing to an empty room, it still would have been an incredible show, but the fans made it something truly special. They put so much effort into their outfits, even hand-making shirts and gelling their hair into liberty spikes to pay homage to the album cover of JVB’s previous record, ‘NO HANDS’. The crowd connected to the performance in a way that I rarely see at modern shows anymore. From the photo pit, rather than looking out into a sea of phones, I saw a sea of empty hands in the air and fans losing their minds. I looked around to see people dancing with their eyes closed, by themselves, in all corners of the room. At one point, an old man dancing alone squeezed through the back of the pit, smiling at young fans jumping up and down on either side of him, and I saw my future with my own two eyes. That one visual is the perfect way to describe the energy of a JVB show.