AI Band Neon Oni to Tour Japan with Live Musicians

AI band Neon Oni to perform live in Japan with real musicians.

Originally composed of AI characters, the musical group Neon Oni is set to perform live concerts in Japan, according to NewsBytes.

The project gained viral popularity online in 2025 following the release of its debut music video.

It now boasts over 79,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with the song Satori Sedai amassing more than 1.2 million streams.

Initially, Neon Oni existed solely in the digital realm. Its creator, known as Kage, used Suno AI to generate music and conceived seven fictional members from Tokyo. He shared posts featuring them on social media and sold merchandise.

While the creator did not explicitly label the group as virtual, fans began to suspect the use of neural networks as its popularity grew.

After the truth was revealed, Kage hired real Tokyo musicians to perform on stage. The group will hold six concerts in the country in March and April 2026.

“We decided to make the group real mainly due to the excitement and immense love from fans,” explained the creator.

Addressing concerns that AI could lead to high unemployment, the creator stated:

“In an era where artificial intelligence is taking everyone’s jobs, this project, on the contrary, creates jobs.”

Apologies from Suno’s CEO

Suno’s head, Mikey Schulman, apologized for concerns that most people “do not enjoy the process of creating music.”

He made this statement in January 2025 during the 20VC podcast.

At the time, Schulman noted that the routine work of production is often perceived as difficult and unpleasant. The remark drew criticism from producers who saw it as dismissive of creativity.

In a recent interview with Billboard, the company leader acknowledged that he regrets his words and “wishes he had chosen different ones.” He clarified that he was referring solely to technical barriers and the lengthy learning process. According to him, the project’s main goal is to lower the entry barrier and make track creation more accessible.

In September 2025, Suno introduced the “world’s first” generative DAW — Suno Studio, which “radically reimagines the music creation process.”