WHEN: July 22nd, 12pm to 9pm

WHERE: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery - Richmond

ADMISSION: Free!

RICHMOND'S PREMIERE VIDEO GAME MUSIC FESTIVAL!

Video game lovers unite!

Welcome to Gotta Go Fest, the ultimate celebration of video game music and nerd culture in Richmond, Virginia. Our festival brings together the best in video game music, cosplay, and nerd-inspired entertainment for an unforgettable experience. Featuring performances from some of the top video game music cover bands and DJs, as well as special guests from the indie and retro gaming industry, Gotta Go Fest is the ultimate destination for video game music lovers. With cosplay contests, video game tournaments, and nerd-inspired vendors, there's something for everyone at Gotta Go Fest. Join us in Richmond, Virginia for a full day of non-stop fun and entertainment, as we celebrate all things gaming and nerd culture. Don't miss out on the ultimate gaming and nerd-inspired festival of the year!

PARTNERS

Below is a list of our strategic partners!!
Click on the images to see more info about our partners!

Our co-founders, Eric McKay and Patrick Murtaugh, were introduced at a young age through the friendship of their parents. Their families would vacation together so it wasn’t long before the two would forge a strong friendship of their own. Years down the road, a well-timed meet-up at a sheep station in Australia, brought their passion for homebrewing and craft beer culture into sharp focus. It was there, at Hardywood Park, where they shared their first glass of full-flavored home-brewed beer. That day inspired ten years of hard work and planning — Eric on the business side and Patrick on the brewing side — and brought their dream into reality with the launch of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.
Hardywood officially began its mission to brew with purpose in late 2011 as one of only two craft breweries in the city of Richmond. Shortly thereafter, we were honored to host the signing of SB 604, which allowed craft breweries to sell beer from their taprooms directly to consumers and paved the way for Richmond to earn its place as one of the top craft beer destinations in the world.

Our original brewhouse and taproom was a vacant warehouse discovered in a long-forgotten neighborhood known nearly a century prior as Richmond’s German Brewing District. Hardywood has been drawing new life to this forgotten area one draft pour at a time. We now operate a 20-barrel brewhouse and taproom in the original location, as well as a 60-barrel brewhouse and destination brewery in the West Creek area of Richmond, right on the border of Goochland County.

Today, Hardywood continues to develop and deliver on its mission with a sharp focus on brewing quality, sourcing local, environmental stewardship, community engagement, and giving back.

Founded in 2022 Bit Gen Games first got started developing their own NES games using NESmaker, the name BIT GEN GAMES is spawned from a one day yearly videogame festival in Baltimore in the summer called BIT GEN GAMERS FEST which features some of the best videogame themed musicians in the world. The BIT GEN GAMES team is composed of Mark Homayouni aka DJ Super Sonic; the main programmer, game designer, and sound engineer(chiptune), and John de Campos aka Ghostbat; the cover artist. Two official games have been released thus far in the span of BIT GEN GAMES lifetime, Dragon Master (a sides scrolling action platformer) where the goal is to rescue Princess Zorldo by using kung fu skills and defeating the evil dragons Dankey and Kang. BIT GEN GAMES second official release was Nosferatu's Revenge (side scrolling action platformer on Gameboy Color released in January of 2023). BIT GEN GAMES is currently developing its third game Fight City which is planned to be a two player action packed game with plenty of edginess commonly seen in classic beat em ups of the past. Come playtest some of our official released games and some games currently in development at Gotto Go Fest this year, and also maybe consider purchasing a game or two to support BIT GEN GAMES growth in the future of the videogame industry.

HiScore is a fully mobile immersive entertainment installation consisting of video games, music, vid

ARTISTS

We are very excited to have the following artists for our inaugural event!
Click on the images to see the artist bio!

Grumpysnorlax is an experimental beat-maker, creating ambient textures alongside boombap beats mixed with an essence of chiptune and nostalgia.
All music created/mixed/mastered using the OP1. Curator for OP1andCHILL, a community dedicated to sharing and showing love to producers using the Teenage Engineering OP-1.
Draws inspiration from HOMESHAKE and some of the greats including Madlib, Quasimoto, A Tribe Called Quest and Flying Lotus.

F1NG3RS combines elements of retro video game textures, synthwave, funk, hip-hop and EDM into a fresh, but nostalgic sound.

Upon graduating college with a bachelor's degree in simulation and digital entertainment (in 2012) DJ SUPER SONIC began his videogame infused career by developing several titles for XBOX 360 including Super Santa Slayer, and Kollosus Roar. In recent years Super Sonic has founded his own Video Game Company "BIT GEN GAMES" and developed several games for the Nintendo Entertaiment System including Dragon Master and Fight City(Fight City currently in development), and also his newest title "Nosferatu's Revenge" for Nintendo Gameboy. DJ Super Sonic was also featured in Gamechops collaboration album "Spindash 2" with his remix of "Flying Battery" from Sonic 3. You can find DJ SUPER SONIC throwing down some sick chiptune and videogame remixed beats at local conventions and festivals in the local DMV area. Fueled mostly by chilidogs this is one DJ that adds a whole new meaning to Gotta Go Fast!!

Formed in the summer of 2015, Error Macro is the brainchild of its creator, Baker McCutcheon, and is the result of combining his love of music and his love of video games into one gnarly experience. Error Macro takes the raw, untouched sounds that emanate from those classic 8-bit and 16-bit video game consoles that we all know and love and accompanies them with unique, high-energy drumming. With drumming inspired from a variety of genres, Error Macro attempts to augment classic video game music in a unique and interesting way.

DJ/Producer Don Chirashi delivers Dilla-inspired dance grooves with jagged offbeat Jazz rhythms dripping with punchy tape saturation. He’s on a constant search for a new kind of Deep House prioritizing dense harmonies & unique drum patterns, always with that irresistible Kaytranada bounce. A regular DJ on Richmond independent radio WRIR 97.3 FM, you’ll catch him playing a wide variety of styles- Hip Hop, Jazz, Soul, House, Ambient & experimental. Listen to his latest remix The Way Of The Groove featured on the new Al Lupo album EP1, now streaming on Spotify. The 2nd Don Chirashi EP is titled Raphine and will be out soon on his cassette label, Anomalis Radio.

The hyper-melodic power-pop-punk-chiptune hailing from the east coast bringing nostalgia to the forefront with their unique blend of 8-bit video game melodies, anime-inspired guitar riffs, and punk energy. Gamers rise up, death to NIJI SAGA, become a part of their colorful, high-energy live performances.

Sequence Break is a band hailing from Hampton, Virginia that specializes in playing a nostalgic blend of 90s alternative and video game cover songs. The band's unique sound is influenced by the iconic bands of the 90s alternative rock scene, as well as the classic video game soundtracks that many of the band members grew up listening to. In addition to covering these beloved songs, Sequence Break also writes and performs their own original music, which captures the same energy and spirit of the bands and games that inspire them. With their catchy songs and high-energy performances, Sequence Break is quickly becoming a favorite among fans of alternative rock and video game music alike.

VENDORS

Below is a list of the vendors that will be at the event!
Click on the images to see more info about our vendors!

Jeneko in Japan has been helping fans get their weeb merch direct from the source since 2015.

Sell Outs is the game about saying anything to get a sale.

Solve problems with your absurd solutions!

Are you plagued by honey badgers? Have you ever had trouble starting a revolution? Everyone has problems. Now you have solutions! Sell Outs is the game of solving your friend’s problems by pitching common items with odd features!

A spaceship that does not need any fuel, but flies really slowly. A rabbit’s foot that doubles as a great wingman. Anything is possible in Sell Outs!

It's a game that is ultimately as innocent or adult as your pitch!

TOURNAMENTS

Click this image to sign-up for one of our two tournaments that are being hosted by HISCORE.

NOTE: Sign-ups are limited to 32 players for Mario Kart 8 and 16 players for Street Fighter 6. Rules and regulations can be found on the sign-up site.

CONTACT

Please feel free to reach out for any questions!

Richmond, VA
Email: gottagofestcontact@gmail.com