MAGFest’s Line-Up

MAGFest (Music And Gaming Festival) is the event for fans of video games and video game music.  Starting in 2002 this year will their 11th and they are bigger than ever before.  It is a 24 hour party and festival.  With no corporate sponsors, no crowded show floors, and no behind-closed-doors showings.  It is an open atmosphere that focuses on community and fan creations.

This year’s MAGFest will be at the Gaylord Nation Hotel and Covention Center in National Harbor, Maryland from January 3-6.

Music is very important to MAGFest, with video game cover bands, chiptune artists, and DJs of all different types over the four days.

The Guest of Honor for this year is Yuzo Koshiro a video game composer of over 30 years; debuting in Falcom and working in games such as Ys, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Shenmue, Actraiser, and more. He runs the development studio ANCIENT with his family. He will be Djing on Saturday night bringing his dancey FM tunes to the con.

Things start off on Thursday night with the Mega Man rock band the Megas, nerdcore super star Random, Metroid tribute band Metroid Metal and the OneUps all on the Main Stage.

Friday will have video game metal by Armcannon, Bit Brigade who combines musical performances with live speed runs of classic video games, the Video Game Orchestra and BrentalFloss and the Cartridge Family which is a combining of comedic lyrics of brentalfloss and Descendants of Erdrick.

Saturday sees power rockers Powerglove and Protomen take the stage along with Pokemon synth band Rare Candy and Final Fantasy theatrical rockers Those Who Fight

For Djs they have video game remixers bLiNd and Benjamin Briggs on Friday. Chiptune/video game music pioneer DJ Cutman on Saturday with.

Chiptune acts for the con will be the four piece group Crashfaster, Danimal Cannon, chiptune and rock duo D&D Sluggers, heavy metal chiptuner Inverse Phase on Friday. For Saturday there is Bright Primate, chiptune supergroup Cheap Dinosaurs, composer Jake “virt” Kaufman, and Kris Keyser. Visuals for the shows will be provided by Batsly Adams, No Carrier, Pixelseed, and Invaderbacca.

Second Stage Performers include a variety of different styles and genres. On Friday there is Descendants of Erdrick, Dwelling of Duels Live which is mad up of all-stars of the monthly VG arrangement competition Dwelling of Duels, Lords of Thunder doing metal VGM covers, My Parents Favorite Music, OCRemix house band Over Clocked University, folksy VGM covers by The World is Square, and jazz band Fighting in the Streets. Arc Impulse, thrash metal VGM cover band Knight of the Round, television and video game composers On Being Human, electro rocker Professor Shyguy, acoustic guitar duo Super Guitar Bros, four piece  string quartet Triforce Quartet, and Mega Man X tribute band X-Hunters on Saturday.

In addition to all the schedule music, MAGFest has a Jamspace area every year for anyone to play.  The stage has drums, guitar, bass, and keyboard for anyone to use or bring your own instrument.  Jam with other musicians or sit back and enjoy.

Besides all the great music there will be a demoparty, charity auction for Child’s Play, Games on Film festival, LARP, Super Art Fight, panels, video game improv, table top gaming, and a marketplace to buy at.  Oh and games.  So much gaming.  There is an indie game showcase, all kinds of tournaments, consoles going all the way back to the 70’s, a LAN room, arcade machines and more.  Guest for the con include video game composer Kinuyo Yamashita, creators of a Mega Man fan film, artists, game creators, other composers, internet video creators, writers, voice of Duke Nukem Jon St. John, and so much other craziness

Pre-registration is $45 for all four days until December 23, so do not miss out.

I really wish I was going to this.  Some one go and tell me about it.   Please.

10 Music Sets for your Nerdy Christmas

With Christmas coming up I thought I share some new songs to sing this season to share your love of fandom.

1. It’s a Fanboy Christmas Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 Luke Ski is a series of Christmas melodies reworked to be about various sci-fi, fantasy, and the like media.  Keep an eye on Luke’s website to see if he puts them up for free or if he releases another one this year.

2. Steampunk band The Men That Will Not be Blamed for Nothing have a Christmas album to check out. A Very Steampunk Christmas is a four track release that comes as 7″ vinly or digital download.  Album includes a different take on a Christmas Carol and punk versions of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Silent Night.

3. Star Wars Christmas by Sci-Fried and Kirby Krackle’s version Rudoph the Red Nose Reindeer both give you some rocking tunes for Christmas.

4. The 8bits of Christmas is a holiday release from 8bitpeoples with 8 chiptune artists using 8 different consoles and computers to produce 8bit versions of classic Christmas songs.  Get it and other albums for free on the 8bitpeoples website and have a chippy Christmas.

5. For some video game related songs we have  Gekkos have Christmas in Hyrule telling about Christmas in the Zelda games, Isane Ian with WOW, Christmas!  sharing how he spends Christmas and feeds his Warcraft addiction, and Pallete Swap Ninja singing about lack of Wii units in Wii Christmastime.

6. For a selection of Christmas wrock music I have found this nice little playlist.  A collection of songs that even He Who Must Not Be Named would find jolly.

7. I also have playlist for Vocaloid covers of Christmas songs and a few originals.  So enjoy some robotic cheer.

8.  There is also Homestuck for the Holidays, I have not even bothered to listen to any of it.  Cause it is Homestuck and I have no plans to find out what those kids at cons are talking about, so enjoy if you care.

9.  Nerdcore rapper Random/Mega Ran has put out a holiday album this year.  A Very Random Christmas is a banging Christmas album that is not all that geeky but is clean and fun plus it is free too, so yeah on free.  Need to check out him reading ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas giving it a more urban slant.

10. and of course  Another Creepy Christmas by Jonah Knight is on the list.  I have talked more about that one previously.

Honorable Mention goes to Bow Down to the Power of Santa from the Invader Zim Christmas Special.  It has become a traditional Christmas song at my house hold ever since it first premiered.

Try playing some of these songs at your next holiday gathering.