Stacks of black loudspeakers flank the stage at Area15, emitting sharp hi-hat hits, guttural growls and bass booms strong enough to make one’s bones shake.
Frenetic graphics flash arrays of color that plaster the room and match the house music’s intensity.
Jeremiah Klein is commanding the show, and, by proxy, the head bobs and knee bounces that pulsated through the crowd of hundreds who attended a rave at the venue where Jeremiah played his monthly 90-minute set Aug. 16.
“Turn me up!” he requested before launching into a remixed version of his own song. Jeremiah vibed to his music on stage through red headphones gripping a black beanie that covered his mop of shoulder-length hair.
At just 13, Jeremiah, whose stage name is DRGN (pronounced ‘dragon’), is already rocking stages around the Las Vegas Valley. Appearances at South Point and the Palms have made the braces-wearing DJ a known name in Southern Nevada’s electronic dance music scene.
Jeremiah has big dreams of becoming a household name in music and selling out venues across the world.
His next step in achieving that goal is supplementing his homeschooling with music classes at UNLV, a decision that came because he was deemed too young to participate in Clark County School District high school extracurriculars.
“It’s cool to be in this scene,” Jeremiah said, “and I feel like I just see myself being in it for the rest of my career.”
From cradle to rave
Jeremiah began his musical training on a drum kit at age 3. His father’s love of the electronic music duo Daft Punk led Jeremiah to take an early liking to the digital genre, and on his sixth birthday, his dad gifted him a DJ controller.
He now spends five to 10 hours per day making music, a routine made possible through the homeschooling he has done since his family moved to Las Vegas during the COVID pandemic.
Jeremiah’s Sunday set was a medley of mostly his own remixes and original songs, he said, with accompanying visuals that he made on his own. On stage, Jeremiah twisted dials and pushed sliders to smoothly transition between songs while balancing high and low ends.
Jeremiah said DJing allows him to share the music he likes with a crowd of others, adding “you can control the room, control the energy.”
“Sometimes I’ll be at places where there’s other DJs and they’ll be like, ‘I started, like, seven years after you, and I’m still not even as good (as you),’” Jeremiah said. “It’s cool to hear stuff like that.”
Jeremiah said he committed himself this year to releasing music every month. His dedication has paid off big.
Tens of thousands of Spotify users listen to DRGN monthly. Thousands more follow his Instagram, where Jeremiah posts videos breaking down his songs, teaching mixing tricks and playing at pool parties that serve beverages he isn’t old enough to drink.
He credited local instructors, including musical artist Wolfy Lights, with teaching him the foundations of music production. “It would be impossible without mentors, or even YouTube,” Jeremiah said.
Wolfy Lights, whose name is Sherry St. Germain, said she taught Jeremiah lessons in piano, guitar, songwriting, playing with other musicians and using the music production software Ableton Live.
“We would have four hours and we would still be going by the time his mom would come and pick him up. He was just so interested, and he’s my favorite student I’ve ever had,” St. Germain said. “He’s kind of like a 30-year-old trapped in a little man’s body. He’s very mature.”
St. Germain said she had retired from teaching to pursue her own musical ambitions, but returned when she met Jeremiah several years ago because she saw much of herself in the boy. She recalled her Partridge Family-esque childhood and aimed to give him a space to explore his own musical interests in a way that she didn’t have early on.
“He understands the pocket, he understands the groove and he knows when to play and when not to play,” St. Germain said. “He’s just very seasoned for so young. He gets it.”
‘Find other kids that he vibes with’
Jeremiah will be taking his music education to the next level this fall by enrolling in two UNLV classes in music theory and guitar performance. The university considers him to be a non-degree-seeking student taking a part-time credit load, a UNLV spokesperson said in an email.
Tori Klein, Jeremiah’s mother, said she tried to enroll her son in music extracurriculars at Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts, but he was turned away because he was not yet 14 years old by the start of August, despite having the academic foundations needed to be a high school freshman.
“I cried, because at his age and his musical ability, it’s really hard to find other kids that he vibes with,” Tori Klein said. “It’s going to be great at UNLV, but it’s going to be not kids his own age, again.”
School district officials said in an email that the district amended its age of entrance and enrollment requirements in October 2023, months after a state law was approved that changed how a child’s grade level is determined.
District officials said its regulation change was made to “align with requirements in state law, and ensure that students are placed in age-appropriate grade levels.”
These strict age requirements for grade entry give families less flexibility in deciding how they educate their children, according to Erin Phillips, co-founder and CEO of the parental rights nonprofit Power 2 Parent.
“This is obviously touching a lot of families. This is obviously causing a lot of parents to become frustrated,” Phillips said.
Though he’ll earn college credits, Jeremiah said he is not gunning for a diploma. Instead, he intends to take university-level classes to strengthen his skills and ultimately become a full-time musician like David Guetta or Fred Again when he reaches adulthood.
Tori Klein said she tries to assist her son in his musical ventures, not as a manager, but as a community builder who can surround her son with positive influences.
“(For) some people initially, it’s a ‘momager’ vibe, but I don’t want to do that,” Tori Klein said, using a word to describe a mom who serves as her child’s manager. “I want to be the one … who lights up his spirit. Same with my husband.”
She added: “All we want to do is find the right team and the right community of people. … My job is to filter that, identify what we need — what he needs — and what he wants, ’cause sometimes those are different, and then filter it to make sure he’s got the best support all around.”
Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.
