TGIF FEATURE: Darren Criss ventures into new realm by teaming up with his brother

HERE'S A double treat from Darren Criss. The Filipino/American performer does a soulful acoustic rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" from the Broadway musical Les Miserables.

Wednesday, (July 26) Criss announced the return of Elsie Fest, an outdoor music festival celebrating stars and songs from the stage and screen, will return for its third go-round on Oct. 8 at the SummerStage in Central Park in New York. This will be the first time the event will be held in Central Park, after being staged at Coney Island in 2016 and Pier 97 in 2015. Pre-sale tickets to the show become available Aug. 1.

Earlier in 2017, Darren has been busy filming The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, in which Criss co-stars as the fashion design'er's killer, Andrew Cunanan. The 10-part series will debut in 2018.

At a point in his life where he wondered what he could tackle next, he teamed up with his older brother Chuck Criss as the pop duo Computer Games and released the Lost Boys Life project. 

Darren and Chuck Criss

The brothers had jammed together at their home in the San Francisco Bay Area and it seemed to be the perfect time to get back together.

Darren, who serves as the project's frontman, calls it a "total passion project," and a perfect opportunity to play music with his brother again. 

As he told Billboard: "I was really trying to figure out what I was going to do and I was trying to decide if I was going to have a band, or a pop moniker, or what the thing was gonna be to make it something new and exciting as opposed to just being myself. I was shying less and less away from just me -- I don’t really like that, I think that puts a lot of pressure on you because it’s just you, you, you."

"I was at the crossroads of what I was going to do next -- Glee was over, there’s been a festering solo record, which people have been asking me about forever," he told Billboard. "Between all the songs I’ve written and produced over the years, I wanted to start fresh. Chuck and I were writing songs, and I was like, “Why don’t we just do this together? These are both our songs.” I’ve always wanted to do something with Chuck, and life’s too short, so here we are."

Take a listen:

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