ATLUS is probably kicking themselves for not bringing Persona Live to the United States sooner. Persona Live 2026: Awakenings was the first U.S. show of the Persona Music Experience series and took place this past week at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. The show had an immediate response the moment pre-sales started, enough that another show was added to the two that were originally announced. The original show sold out within hours and it was nearly impossible to grab multiple seats, making it clear just how much demand there was even for theater seats that cost upwards of $1000 USD. Overall, Persona Live 2026: Awakenings was an impeccable showcase of bringing the experience of a video game to real life. It was a show that reminded you of all of the best parts of Persona and had you experience them with all five senses.
The performance featured live performances by fan-favorite artists from the Persona 5 and Persona 3 games (there weren’t songs from Persona 4, my personal favorite) including: Lyn Inaizumi, singer of Persona 5 series, Azumi Takahashi, singer of Persona 3 Reload, Lotus Juice, rapper and vocalist of Persona 3 & Persona 3 Reload, Toshiki Konishi, composer and guitarist from the Atlus Sound Team, and the Persona Live Dancers, dancers dressed as characters from the iconic games who accompanied the musical performers on stage.
This performance was a smaller and more intimate one than what this group likely could have managed. The Dolby Theatre seats around 3,400 people, which is fairly mid-sized as far as concert venues go. While this meant that the overall number of people was lower than it could have been a comparably larger venue, it also meant that, irrespective of where in the theater you were sitting, you had a pretty good view of the performers and a chance to feel like you were really experiencing them. While the theater had two screens on the sides of the stage meant to give further-out-seated guests a closer look, I imagine a lot of what was happening in front of the house was pretty clear to the naked eye even at the furthest reaches of the theater. I do feel sorry for those who weren’t able to get tickets though; I am reminded of Lyn’s solo show during Anime Expo of 2025, where the relatively small venue she performed in meant that thousands of people waited in line to no avail and didn’t get a chance to see her. The Persona fanbase is absolutely obsessed with the franchise (and I say that as a prime example) so I would like everyone who wanted to attend an event like this to have the opportunity.
I attended the Saturday evening show, which started a little late due to the sheer mass of people trying to enter the theater and find their way to seats. It was unclear whether the slow procession was the result of too many people trying to enter at once or some administrative slowness on the part of security, but I would guess the former. Plenty of people were adorned in merch from the concert and general Persona cosplay. Refreshingly, despite the concert’s focus on Persona 3 and Persona 5, I saw a bevy of Persona 4 cosplay, including multiple sets of Chie and Yukiko cosplayers and more than a few groups of multiple of the game’s playable characters. Persona 5 was, without question, the most visually present in terms of cosplay though, with plenty of Ren, Futaba, and Ann cosplayers especially.
And just as well too, as the concert started off with a spotlight on Persona 5 (and its many forms; Persona 5: The Phantom X also had some songs come through). The beginning section hit some fan favorites, “Colors Flying High”, “Take Over”, and “Last Surprise” let Lyn warm up the crowd and start the energy nice and high. The Persona Live Dancers were a surprisingly nice accompaniment to the music, especially since they danced not only in costume as characters from Persona 5 but also in character. The way each of them danced fit the character they were portraying and it gave the performance a more well-rounded and dynamic appearance. Lyn is an absolute pleasure on stage, combining a warm, receptive attitude with the capacity to transition seamlessly into yet another popular song and invite chants, screams, and cheers from the audience. Toshiki Konishi additionally added a lot of fullness to multiple songs with live guitar performances that absolutely shredded alongside the singer’s vocals. One song I recall desperately wishing would get performed though was “No More What Ifs,” the song that plays inside the jazz club in Persona 5. I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs from the entire series and, while it might have been a bit of a departure from the excited energy of the other songs, I think it would have been a nice addition.
As the first half of the concert came to a close, fans dutifully switched their penlights from red to blue as Azumi Takahashi and Lotus Juice made their way to the stage. It may have just been my particular area of the lower section, but Lotus Juice had probably the loudest reception of any of the individual artists in the entire performance, which surprised me (my impression was that Lyn would have louder fans, irrespective of actual relative popularity). The Persona 3 Reload section of the concert started off with soft piano renditions of “Color Your Night” and “Don’t” with the latter being one of the player-advantage songs from the game’s DLC (and my favorite track from the DLC, without question). This is one area where I think things may have fallen a bit short. There were some points where the sound felt poorly mixed and the balance between the music and the vocals felt off. More to the point, I think “Don’t” just doesn’t work that well as a piano rendition. A large part of the song’s appeal, at least to me, is the bass guitar especially, which is absent in the piano version. “Color Your Night” worked much better and was a gentle introduction that highlighted Azumi Takahashi’s beautiful singing though. I felt that her performance was closest in tone and kind to what you’d hear in the game itself, which was a bit surreal. Like with the Persona 5 section, plenty of crowd favorites were played during this section, with songs like “Full Moon Full Life” and “It’s Going Down Now” getting especially loud cheers. Lotus Juice especially stood out as he demonstrated some impressive cardio and rapped for quite long stretches of time without taking a breath, though the volume of his vocals could’ve been raised at times in my opinion.
Lastly, the show ended with an encore section that featured all of the singers and dancers returning to the stage for a combination appearance and a trio performance of “Deep Breath Deep Breath.” Slowly, the chanting of “Persona,” the singing along, and the waving of penlights came to a close, and folks made their way out of the theater. It felt like an anime convention as people stopped cosplayers for photos and continued the social energy of things even beyond the concert. All of that was amazing to see.
This show was amazing, and I wish I had the forethought to buy tickets to see if multiple times during the two nights it was in LA. It was good in a way that left me simultaneously incredibly happy with what I got while also wanting more. I wanted to experience every song, I wanted to feel music from a real orchestra, and, more than anything else, I wanted to experience what I did for Persona 4. I recognize that the game hasn’t had an installment as recently as Persona 3 and Persona 5, and that one is soon to come. I’m hoping that means that the next Persona Live will feature the title. In any case, I’m looking forward to years to come of more and more Persona shows right here in the US.
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