Boris Brejcha says 2028 will be his final year as the Joker
The high-tech minimal pioneer has named 2028 his last chapter behind the mask, with a farewell "Becoming the Joker" tour. He says he isn’t ill and still loves making music.
The man behind the jester mask has set an end date. In a video posted to his own Instagram on 24 October, captioned simply "Last Chapter 2028", Boris Brejcha told fans that 2028 will be his final year performing as the Joker.
Loading Instagram post...
Why 2028
Boris says the decision goes back to advice from his father: walk away while things are at their best. For him, that moment is the close of 2028. The plan is to play as many shows as he can that year, as a thank-you to the fans who carried the Joker this far, and then close the book at the end of December.
In the video he writes the words "Last chapter – Becoming the Joker – Tour 2028" into a leather-bound book, which looks set to be the name of the farewell run.
Not ill, not burnt out
He was quick to shut down the obvious questions. Boris says he isn't sick and hasn't lost his love for making music. The call was his alone, made after a long time thinking it over.
What comes after is open, even to him. He describes it as the start of a new story that he doesn't know yet himself. Whether that means retiring, dropping the mask, or a project under a different name, he hasn't said, and we won't guess.
Twenty years behind the mask
Boris first put on the Joker mask in 2006, inspired by carnival in Brazil, and it became one of the most recognisable images in electronic music. The Mannheim-born producer built his own lane with "high-tech minimal": driving techno with big melodies and a trancy edge, played almost entirely from his own catalogue.
From club nights to his own "in Concert" arena shows, and this summer onto Tomorrowland's mainstage, the mask has gone everywhere he has.
Becoming the Joker
A teaser site is already live at becomingthejoker.com. For now it shows the same book from the video, with a gold jester emblem on the cover, and a sign-up to get notified when "the book opens". No 2028 dates, cities or tickets have been announced yet.
Where to catch him before then
The farewell year is still a long way off, and Boris is busy until then. Coming up:
- 29 Oct 2026 – ONYX Arena, Jeddah
- 30 Oct 2026 – Bernexpo, Bern
- 31 Oct 2026 – Reflections at MVM Dome, Budapest
- 6 Nov 2026 – Parque de la Industria, Guatemala City
- 7 Nov 2026 – Ultra Mexico
- 13 Nov 2026 – Laroc Club, Valinhos (Brazil)
- 14 Nov 2026 – Creamfields Chile, Santiago
- 20 Nov 2026 – Signal Festival, Vösendorf (Austria)
- 27 Nov 2026 – Soho Garden Festival, Dubai
- 15–23 Jan 2027 – Dangerous Goods XXL tour: Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne
- 5 Feb 2027 – Igloofest, Montréal
- 7 Aug 2027 – Theaterplatz, Dresden
Boris on Ravist Radio
The Joker is one of our station's most-played artists. Since Ravist Radio started broadcasting on 1 June 2026, it has played Boris Brejcha 930 times: 22 different tracks, counting his own productions plus remixes and features credited to him. The first one went out on 2 June, and the most recent at 00:40 on 25 October, just after the news broke.
His airtime has grown month by month:
- June – 95 plays
- July – 140
- August – 259
- September – 254
- October (to the 25th) – 182
The five tracks we've played most:
- Thunderstorm – 80 plays
- Nothing Seems To Be – 75
- Gravity (Edit) (feat. Laura Korinth) – 74
- Breathing (Boris Brejcha Remix) – 70
- Lonely Planet – 65
You'll find them on What Ravist Radio played, our running Spotify playlist of what the station spins.
Start with Space Diver
If you only play one record before 2028, make it Space Diver (2020), his album on Ultra Music and the one that took high-tech minimal to a much bigger crowd.
We'll update this story when the 2028 tour dates land.
Tracks to hear
30-second previews.
Source: Boris Brejcha on Instagram