Bit Gen Fest features one of the biggest lineups of video game bands ever

​On August 14, Baltimore will rock video-game style. 

Bit Gen Gamer Fest Returns for Year 5: Bigger than Ever

Video game rock band Entertainment System continues their annual concert celebrating gamer culture.

This summer, video game rock band Entertainment System will host the fifth incarnation of their annual concert, Bit Gen Gamer Fest. The concert is composed of bands and artists inspired by the world of video games and will be held at Sonar in Baltimore, MD on August 14th 2010.

Hosted at a small private art space in 2005 on little more than a whim, Bit Gen Gamer Fest began as 8-Bit Gen, and hosted a modest five bands. The show was enough of a success to warrant a second year, dubbed 16-Bit Gen, followed by third and fourth year concerts, entitled 32-Bit and 64-Bit Gen, respectively. After four years, the show has finally settled to Bit Gen Gamer Fest, mostly out of necessity, but also as a way of reminding fans that this concert isn't building to a conclusion, and is here to stay.

"Also, 128-Bit Gen was just getting kind of ridiculous", says Entertainment System front man, John DeCampos.

DeCampos and fellow Entertainment System band member Chris Baines began the show with one goal in mind: to provide a venue where fans of video game music and art could come together and become part of a social event that celebrated gaming culture. "We started mostly to just have fun, and it still is," says Baines, "but we had no idea it would go this far."

Bit Gen has certainly grown since its inception. The first year drew a humble crowd of 150 people with only five bands. By contrast, last year's 64-Bit Gen concert, hosted at The Ottobar in Baltimore, MD, had 10 bands and came close to selling out with over 500 people in attendance. After the success of the past 4 years, Entertainment System has no plans of slowing down. This year's venue, Sonar, is one of the largest concert club venues in Baltimore, with a capacity that is almost 9 times greater than the total attendance of the first Bit Gen concert.

There will certainly be enough action to fill that space, as Bit Gen 5 will host 12 musical acts who will be performing a wide variety of covers and originals from numerous genres. In addition to the hard rock of Entertainment System, the concert will include the smooth, groovy stylings of The OneUps, pop rock from California's The Megas, technical-metal powerhouse Powerglove, and the epic concept arrangements of The Protomen, to name a few. A version of electronica known as chiptunes, which borrows the familiar blips and bloops of classic video game music combined with catchy dance beats, will be spun throughout the night by DJ Cutman, and the entire show will be MC'ed by Brent Black (a.k.a. brentalfloss), a comedic musician whose YouTube videos of classic game music with original lyrics have been featured on ScrewAttack.com and G4 TV.

In addition to the bands, Bit Gen will feature many artists displaying and selling art from every era of gaming, in several different mediums. If that isn't enough to tickle your inner-nerd fancy, then the wall of playable video game consoles and arcade cabinets will be. Games ranging from the original Nintendo classics to the next-gen PlayStation 3 offerings will be available for all to enjoy.

When asked what direction the show will take from here, DeCampos has but one answer: "Well there's no going back, that's for sure."

Bit Gen Gamerfest 5 will be held at Sonar in Baltimore on August 14th. The show is all ages, and tickets are available now for $18 at www.sonarbaltimore.com.

Additional information and updates are available at:

www.bitgengamerfest.com

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/BitGenGamerfest

Twitter: @BitGenGamerfest

Myspace: www.myspace.com/bitgenocide