Jesse (DJ Persist) was very helpful not only in providing great music from start to finish at our wedding, but in acting as a day of coordinator, knowing when to adjust and segue into the different parts of our reception. He was great at honoring our song requests, as well as making adjustments on the spot. He had a very calm and confident demeanor, which really helped set the mood from the start. He was quick to go with the flow, and make some logistical changes due to weather in regards to setup, etc. Jesse was also the quickest of any vendor to respond to emails/texts in the months/weeks/days leading up to our event, which was awesome. Overall professional, dependable, and a great entertainer when it came to the dance hours of our wedding. Some advice to anyone booking: Leave some room for Jesse to throw in some songs of his own during the dance hour. He has a good sense for the vibe/style music you want, and that can take the pressure of of you to fill the whole dance portion of your wedding. Give direction, where needed. If you know the acoustics of your venue, let him know where you want him to be setup. You can trust that he will be there early the day of to scout the best location for his gear/speakers. Some advice for Jesse: No need to ever play a remixed version of the Killer's Mr. Brightside. The original is perfection that should not be tampered with :-) read more

Thank you DJ Persist! You helped ensure our daughter's Quinceañera was a success. If I had to use two words to describe our experience they would be dependable and professional. From our initial meeting he was easy to work with, presenting a variety of packages and options while making suggestions (based on experience) of what type of services would be ideal. Music is the life of the party and DJ Persist knows how to "light up a party" (literally! his up-lighting created an incredible ambiance). Extremely talented! He very easily had everyone on the dance floor throughout the entire night. The music catered to a divers audience bridging the cultural and generational gap that ensured EVERYONE was able to enjoy the music selection and dance. Best of all, he was hands on, ensuring the program ran smooth; from dinner music, calling the toast, preparing the traditional entrance and dance, and working with all other parties involved (i.e. photographer, videographer, and the caterer). In the midst of a celebration, time can escape you, and it's easy to forget the flow of the program, but DJ Persist stopped and collaborated with everyone to help us enjoy our party and continue the program. His music, lighting, glow sticks, and the special confetti were amazing! Thank you, DJ Persist (Mr. Jesse Palencia) for a memorable evening we will never forget. read more

My bride wrote a review but I want to as well because DJ Persist was so amazing at our wedding on May 13th at Loft on Lake in Chicago! We had a mixed race wedding (Caucasian Groom/Mexican-American Bride) and wanted to make sure all our guests could have some of their favorite tunes for the night. DJ Persist played a great mix of oldies, 80's, 90's, Mexican, and Hip-Hop for our wedding - and all our guests loved it. We didn't even give Jesse a list of songs, he just knew exactly what to play to get the party going! All our guests from the youngest to the oldest were up and dancing! In addition to DJing, Jesse did a great job making sure the evening program went smoothly. We paid extra for some mics for the ceremony and Jesse made sure our service was ready to go with the music set and mics working. He even helped us organize cake cutting and instructed the catering company to buss the tables, as our catering company was not prepared and not on top of their game. Without Jesse managing the night our wedding would not have gone as smoothly. He checked in with us constantly on the program, and any concerns we had he was right there with his help. I would contract Jesse again in a heartbeat and hope people reading give him a call. Thanks again DJ Persist! read more

We used DJ Persist (Jesse) for our wedding this past July, 2017 for our wedding. Since the very beginning he was so easy to work with and very responsive to emails and any questions we had for him. We met with him twice and each time he was courteous, professional and provided some good suggestions to help us out. On our wedding day, he arrived early to set everything up. He kept us on track by following the timeline that we created with him. With so much going on that day he was so helpful with reminding us about events, speeches and dances that we still needed to complete. He was running around making sure we were up to date on what was coming next. The entire time, he kept a professional attitude. Our dance floor was full at all times. He played all the genres that we asked him and went above and beyond with his DJ services. He truly was the best DJ that we could have asked for. At the end of the night we were so satisfied and glad that we had him at our event because he truly made in difference in making things run smoothly throughout. For future events, we will certainly be using his services again. Thank you so much for making our wedding night fun and memorable for us and all of our guest......until this day we continue to receive compliments!! read more

DJ Persist was super professional and a big event saver! Our mariachi was a no-show and they were supposed to play for two hours before him and we're supposed to play my daughter father dance and he quickly gave me options to pick from so that he can improvise on the fly. The crowd never even noticed that it was not the song I was supposed to dance. He fed of the crowd dancing on what he played next to keep the party going. He never once hyped or advertised his name like other DJ's do constantly. He was all about us and giving us what we wanted on our special day. Played whatever we asked on the fly and mixed it in perfectly as if it was planned to be the next song. If you are looking for a GREAT DJ that will not disappoint and give you exactly what you want, book him! His photo booth package we got was AWESOME and everyone loved it! It was the talk of the party for everyone. He was setup way before anyone even got there and was ready to go as soon as people started showing up with some background music that was not overwhelming but appropriate. Jesse is highly recommended for any occasion and he will come prepared for anything that comes up, we can vouch for that! He is already booked for our daughter's quinceñera next year. read more

He was the DJ for my wedding, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. He was a recommendation from a friend, and we couldn't have been happier. He made the whole process up to the wedding super easy and relaxing. There were things that we just didn't know about that he asked us if we wanted and calmly explained them to us to get through the process. His website was super easy to navigate to make music requests and suggestions, and he even managed to get all the weird video game music we wanted for the ceremony and the reception! On the actual wedding day, we used his speakers and microphones for the ceremony, lighting for the reception room, photobooth set up, and, most importantly, the actual DJ service. Everything looked gorgeous with the lighting, the ceremony went off without a hitch, the photobooth was amazing (His wife ran the booth the whole night! She was a delight!), and his DJing was the best!! There were points in the night that you literally could not fit more people on the dancefloor, and the guests at another wedding tried to sneak into our room to party! Everyone we saw the next day wouldn't stop talking about how great the DJ was and how amazing the music was. You cannot go wrong with him!! read more

Jesse is an amazing DJ and so professional. We hired him for my sister's Quinceanera because we were amazed at his performance at a cousins wedding a few years ago. We knew exactly who we were hiring once it was time for us to have a DJ. As many of you know, any large event can get chaotic and timelines can get thrown off. Mine definitely did! I was stressed but he kept up with me and put my mind at ease. He worked with me and had no problem keeping up with all the changes I kept throwing at him. None of my guests could tell anything was off schedule. He just kept the flow going and gave us a magical night. His online tools were awesome and were a crucial part to my planning. All the additional services he offers are spectacular. We personally took advantage of the Photo Booth, uplighting and photo montage. Everything was perfect! He is the master at keeping people on the dance floor. We had a wide range of ages at our event and everyone was up there! I think one of the most important things that your guests will remember at any event is how much fun they had, Jesse made our night one to remember and I could recommend him 100x's again!! 3-24-18 read more

DJ Persist couldn't have been a better DJ selection for our wedding. Jesse was such a pleasure to work with, and met with us several times before our wedding to go over every last detail. He has an awesome planning website that is so easy to use, which made the planning process a breeze for us. Jesse got to our wedding reception venue extra early, and made sure that everything was set up and ready to go for the event. He stuck to our timeline, and played every request we made at the perfect times throughout the night. His selection of music was also perfect for our Mexican/American wedding. I'd say that nearly 95% of our guests were on the dance floor all night, which is more than we could've imagined. Jesse really knows how to make a crowd want to get up and get on the dance floor! My husband and I have gotten so many compliments from our guests of all ages about how awesome DJ Persist was, and want him to play at their own weddings in the future. I would recommend DJ Persist for any wedding 110%, you will not be disappointed! read more

DJ Persist made sure to contact us during the planning process and checked in with us to make sure we had all the details ready for the wedding day. We added his services for the ceremony last minute, and he had no problems helping us out! On the day of the wedding, he kept everyone in the loop and communicated efficiently with our other vendors. The wedding ran smoothly, as he helped MC the event as well. We knew it would be a tough task to keep all of our guests dancing as it was a good mix of different ethnicities and musical tastes. But, he pulled if off!! The dance floor was packed from beginning to end. Even we, the bride and groom, pretty much danced the whole night. Our guests did not have one complaint about the music, on the contrary, everyone praised his work. We will definitely be asking him to DJ if we have future events and we will recommend him to anyone that needs a DJ!! As a side note, he also provided Photo Booth services, and that was on point! Even Grandma got in on the fun! Thank you Jesse! read more

From the moment we met with Jesse in early 2020, my daughter and I knew he would be the perfect DJ for her quinceañera. Fast forward six months and one pandemic later, Jesse proved our initial feelings correct. He was professional, accomodating and extremely helpful at the party with keeping us on time and our program moving. His production quality and sound was top notch. The music was loud enough to feel like a party, but not so loud where you couldn't have a conversation with the person sitting next to you. He was great at switching up the music when necessary and anticipating what people would like. The additional screens and uplighting were a great addition to an already impressive setup. He also provided the photobooth, which was again, all quality. Our guests had a great time and the attendant was patient and helpful. DJ Persist played a major part in making my daughter's celebration so special. His DJ and people skills make him great at what he does and set him apart from the rest! read more

DJ Persist was one of the key factors in making my much anticipated wedding day a success! His prices were very reasonable, he was very flexible and accommodating in the planning process, and more importantly he was very patient and extremely professional on the day of the wedding. He was pretty much in charge of taking the reigns for facilitating and being the official MC of the entire evening. He made sure to communicate with myself and the bridal party at all times about our schedule and did everything to accommodate to any changes that presented themselves. From the moment the evening began, he created a magical ambiance that supported our style/individual music choices, with a mix of his own style, and more importantly, the needs of our wide range of diverse guests. After the first official dance, the dance floor was filled with all of our guests enjoying the night away. We are truly grateful to his services and would definitely reccommend him for future events. read more

DJ Persist (Jesse) was absolutely amazing! He provided us with DJ services, a standing photo booth AND a roaming photo booth (which if you have never heard of a roaming photo booth ask, you wont regret it!).  Everything went extremely smooth leading up to the big day even with a venue change due to covid -- Jesse was very accommodating and professional.  He payed attention to every small detail and was able to read the room to ensure the dance floor was never empty. The photo booth was a hit but the roaming photo booth was even better. People are STILL talking about it today how unique it was and how they can text the photos to their phone.  The attendant even did a "boomerang" of throwing the bouquet and going for the garter.  The quality of the equipment and his team are top notch. We would not have changed a thing!  We really want to give a big THANK YOU to Jesse and his team, we HIGHLY recommend their services to anyone who asks!! read more

My husband and I hired Jesse to be the DJ for our wedding on 6/8/2013 and we were exstatic of how the night turned out! Our wedding was a big hit because of Jesse! He did a great job of organizing and making the proper introductions. He got the party started right away, everyone came to the dance floor. We got complements on the Rat Pack mix during dinner, the progression through the decades to start the party off, and he kept the party going with all todays top hits throughout the night. We asked that he mix in some traditional latin dance songs and each song mixed into the flow perfectly. He also had no problem taking requests from our guests and announcing the Blackhawks win! If you have any doubts about Jesse - I can tell you that my husband and I had never met Jesse before and because our wedding went so well we recommend him to all our friends and family. Thank you Jesse for making our day a huge success!! read more

One word, AMAZING!!! We hired DJ Persist to DJ at our wedding a few weeks ago in downtown Chicago and he did an incredible job! We had a mixed race/bi-cultural wedding and were worried about making sure that everyone had a good time and he didn't let us down. Not only was the dance floor packed all night, he kept us on schedule and stress free. We also splurged on the photo booth and it was worth it! With DJ Persist, you get the full package, a professional, responsive, and knowledgeable MC with state of the art equipment including a photo booth. We got so many compliments about the music including "this was the best wedding I've ever been too, I've never sweated this much!" which speaks volumes of him and the awesome job he did Djing that night. If you want to have a stress free good time, I HIGHLY recommend DJ Persist for your next event! Thank you Jesse for creating an unforgettable wedding experience! read more

I contacted Jesse to DJ at my moms 50th Birthday Dinner and it was one of the best decisions that was made for that Party! I knew Jesse was a good DJ from back in college, but to see him do his thing at a more formal event, I can honestly say I was blown away. We kept in contact before the event about music likes and dislikes and he was given the schedule for the evening which he followed -very much appreciated. I was a little on the edge at first to see how he would cater to the different age groups but the man knows what he's doing. I have recommended him various times and everyone at the party loved the music he played during dinner and after. He had everyone dancing and kept the party going with his wide selection of music. Not one person had a complaint, only good things were said! Jesse is dependable, professional and above all extremely talented! Can't wait to hear him DJ again! :) read more

Jesse was absolutely amazing to work with. He constantly coordinated with us throughout the planning process to make sure everything was going smoothly and had a final call the week of the wedding to go over everything. As soon as the reception started, Jesse was on top of everything and made sure everything got done. As far as the music, the dance floor was packed all night. From the first song when the dance floor opened up to the very last song, the dance floor was full of our guests. He did a great job of mixing in traditional Latin music/dance music/ oldies to keep everyone involved. One of the things I will always remember about our wedding was that as the last song finished, I turned around and saw just about everyone still on the dance floor. I would absolutely recommend DJ Persist to anyone looking for a wedding DJ. read more

I found DJ Persist when we both worked at a well known night club in Chicago. I've admired how he always payed close attention to his crowd. Played the best music and always professional. Back in 2013, when I was single, I told him that one day when I get married, he'd be DJing at my Wedding. Fast forward to 2017, I requested his presence for my 2019 wedding. I was so delighted to know that not only did he DJ, yet he came with an entire package of lights, dancing in the clouds, photo booth and the sparkler effects to name a few. Yes I got them all! His package relieved us from going back and forth with different vendors. With all of his special effects, my photographer and guests were then able to capture beautiful pictures. Thank you so much for brining it all together for us. It's truly a night to remember. read more

We couldn't be more satisfied with the service. DJ Persist comes fully equipped and prepared to put on a great performance the entire night. His suggestion to add uplighting at the venue was a great idea because it made for an outgoing and lively atmosphere. We had multiple guests from out of town, all with different taste in music and the DJ managed to get them all dancing on the dance floor throughout the night. He knows how to read the crowd well which is essential for any DJ looking to keep the party going! Jesse is also easy to communicate with and readily available despite his busy workday schedule. He explained the music playlist process and answered all of our questions. Our guests had nothing but positive comments about DJ Persist. We highly recommend Jesse for your future events! read more

I am in charge of the Student Council for a college prep high school. I've been doing this for twenty years and have definitely seen my share of Djs. Once I hired Jesse, I have not gone back. I'm actually a little bit worried about him getting more popular since I don't know what I'd do if I have to compete for his schedule. Oh, well. He deserves a great review and as many customers as I can get him. Jesse is the only DJ I've ever hired that truly understands the relationship between the music and the audience and how to use that understanding to really produce a great dancing environment. It is always wonderful when you find someone with real talent. We just had him for our Homecoming Dance and the word that got back to me was that the kids thought the music was awesome. read more