American Pinball Main Stage
This was our 2023 American Pinball Main Stage line up!
Friday, March 31
Mechanical Life Vein presents: Super Metroid
Mechanical Life Vein returns, bringing their unique brand of experimental video game rock to the Midwest Gaming Classic. Behold the MASSIVE Kraid, TERRIFYING Ridley, and HORRIFIC Draygon! Discern the BEWILDERING features of the Phantoon and Botwoon–and witness the END of Planet Zebes as the band takes on the entirety of the 1994 classic, SUPER METROID alongside LIVE video! Drop in, drop out, have a snack and come right back, but DO NOT miss this NEVER BEFORE SEEN sci-fi SPECTACLE at the 2023 Midwest Gaming Classic!
Beaker
BEAKER is a 3-piece band that incorporates the upbeat sounds of modern pop, punk, funk, ska, and progressive rock. BEAKER puts on a high-energy interactive show focused on fast paced dance-able original music. BEAKER injects humor, lighting effects, and crowd interaction into all of its performances.
For more see: http://www.beakermusic.net/ or www.facebook.com/beakermusic
Subspace
Subspace is a collective of video-mixing DJs. We mix music to a wide array of 8-bit, pop culture, and found footage video; cut up and glitchy for a mind-melting AV experience! We spin only the finest and most choice of EBM, Industrial, chiptunes, house, and synthetic beats!
https://facebook.com/TeamSubspace/
Saturday, April 1
Brian Koenig
Brian Koenig (the Baron from Lords of the Trident) has brought heavy metal to new and original arrangements of classic video game music. Raise the horns to music from the NES, SNES, 64, Playstation, and more, all with accompanying game play footage.
The Harp Twins
Identical twin harpists Camille and Kennerly Kitt have achieved extraordinary success by smashing boundaries between genres of music! The twins’ ability to reinvent the harp has given them the opportunity to represent the United States at four different World Harp Festivals, amass over 2.5 million fans across their social media sites and over 140 million Youtube music video views! Mixing their virtuoso harp skills with stunningly complex arrangements of rock, metal, Celtic, Renaissance, and soundtrack classics – as well as Celtic Nordic inspired original songs – the Harp Twins deliver exciting, comedic, and interactive family-friendly performances that you won’t forget!
MGC Cosplay Championship Pre-Judging
Stop by our Cosplay HQ on the second floor during the day to register before the big finale!
Gunderslam
Raised by Video Games, Inspired by Metal (or is it the other way around?). Heavy metal video game cover act Gunderslam is a multi-metal subgenre instrumental guitarist and producer that takes your favorite video game songs and makes them METAL AF! Covering games franchises such as Zelda, Metroid, and Hollow Knight, he blends the original compositions with original heavy metal influences that combine to make a heavy mix. He started uploading performance videos in 2015 on YouTube and since then has moved to performing live as a duo, featuring Dave Norman on drums!
https://www.patreon.com/Gunderslam
https://open.spotify.com/album/1Frp2aiRJ6WVXej0O08HRv?si=BinmqXwMSJaZzj41yCgTRQ&nd=1
Arcade Mode
Arcade Mode plays video game jazz music with ripping guitar solos. Catch them playing jazz/rock covers of gaming music or online at https://arcademode.bandcamp.com.
Super Guitar Bros
SGB does acoustic guitar covers of video game songs. With acoustic guitars. Acoustically. Acoustic guitar duo performing covers of video game music, from the Detroit area, MI. Formed in 2007. Huge thanks to Whatnot for bringing the Super Guitar Bros to the MGC!
The Harp Twins
Identical twin harpists Camille and Kennerly Kitt have achieved extraordinary success by smashing boundaries between genres of music! The twins’ ability to reinvent the harp has given them the opportunity to represent the United States at four different World Harp Festivals, amass over 2.5 million fans across their social media sites and over 140 million Youtube music video views! Mixing their virtuoso harp skills with stunningly complex arrangements of rock, metal, Celtic, Renaissance, and soundtrack classics – as well as Celtic Nordic inspired original songs – the Harp Twins deliver exciting, comedic, and interactive family-friendly performances that you won’t forget!
MGC Cosplay Championship Pre-Judging
Stop by our Cosplay HQ on the second floor during the day to register before the big finale!
Lacey Johnson
Lacey Johnson: YouTuber, Producer, “Keytar Kween” Lacey’s style has best been described as “Nerdy with a twist of pop punk,” “Bursting with energy” and has been “spreading the gospel of VGM” wherever she goes. Lacey is a Southern-California-based Video Game Musician currently creating bi-weekly covers on her YouTube channel in which she is the sole musician, producer, and arranger. Lacey also streams live video game music and gaming on her Twitch Channel. You can also find her creating keytar-focused content on Tiktok. Lacey’s live show is packed with your favorite video game tracks from several genres, some serious Keytar shredding, and high-energy good vibes to go around.
https://www.youtube.com/laceyjohnsonmusic
https://www.instagram.com/laceyjohnsonmusic/
https://www.twitch.tv/laceyjohnsonmusic
https://twitter.com/LaceyJMusic
https://laceyjohnsonmusic.bandcamp.com/
KUNG LAO
Watch what the actor behind Kung Lao, Anthony Marquez, does when he isn’t ripping out spines and defending the Earthrealm! Turns out he’s the frontman of his own band! KUNG LAO plays a variety of cover and original songs that are AWESOME. This is a set you’re going to want to GET OVER HERE for!
MGC Cosplay Championship
Come see one of the most fun Cosplay contests around on Saturday night at 7pm at the MGC Main Stage! With prizes for the best male, female, and group costumes, this is a fun event to watch or participate in! Entry for main categories is free. All participants need to register as contestants during the day. Click more information below for full Cosplay Contest Rules.
Want to be a contestant? This year, we’re pre-judging the entrants to help ensure the smooth operation of our tournament! Stop by our Cosplay HQ on the second floor during the day to register (12pm-2pm or 4pm-6pm). Then return at 6:45pm near the Main Stage to be ready for the finals!
Pre-judging Categories (10 points each)
Craftsmanship/ Quality – Level of complexity and skill required to construct, diversity of materials used, how much of it is custom made
Accuracy/ Novelty – The degree to which the costume is true to the source material, or to which a unique portrayal is given
Time/ Effort – Amount of time dedicated
On Stage – Presence, demeanor, crowd hype, performance (if applicable)
Sunday, April 2
Fighting Island
Fighting Island is the musical project of Chicago artist PJ Rork. Started in 2016, Fighting Island takes inspiration from 16-bit era JRPGs and crafts emotive soundtracks for fictional video games. Their debut album, Echoes from Brightmoon Tor, was released in December of 2020. Becoming a multimedia project of sorts, Echoes tells a more developed story—embellished with Rork’s own visual art. Overall, these explorations into the wide and wonderful world of VGM seek to transport the listener to worlds as familiar as they are new.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/pj_rork
The Harp Twins
Identical twin harpists Camille and Kennerly Kitt have achieved extraordinary success by smashing boundaries between genres of music! The twins’ ability to reinvent the harp has given them the opportunity to represent the United States at four different World Harp Festivals, amass over 2.5 million fans across their social media sites and over 140 million Youtube music video views! Mixing their virtuoso harp skills with stunningly complex arrangements of rock, metal, Celtic, Renaissance, and soundtrack classics – as well as Celtic Nordic inspired original songs – the Harp Twins deliver exciting, comedic, and interactive family-friendly performances that you won’t forget!
TEST YOUR MIGHT
Mortal Kombat is the coolest, and so are the motion capture actors from the game. Plus, they’re real martial artists with real moves. Come learn your favorite move from your favorite character’s motion capture performer on stage!
KUNG LAO (acoustic)
Watch what the actor behind Kung Lao, Anthony Marquez, does when he isn’t ripping out spines and defending the Earthrealm! Turns out he’s the frontman of his own band! KUNG LAO plays a variety of cover and original songs that are AWESOME. This is a set you’re going to want to GET OVER HERE for!
Lacey Johnson
Lacey Johnson: YouTuber, Producer, “Keytar Kween” Lacey’s style has best been described as “Nerdy with a twist of pop punk,” “Bursting with energy” and has been “spreading the gospel of VGM” wherever she goes. Lacey is a Southern-California-based Video Game Musician currently creating bi-weekly covers on her YouTube channel in which she is the sole musician, producer, and arranger. Lacey also streams live video game music and gaming on her Twitch Channel. You can also find her creating keytar-focused content on Tiktok. Lacey’s live show is packed with your favorite video game tracks from several genres, some serious Keytar shredding, and high-energy good vibes to go around.
https://www.youtube.com/laceyjohnsonmusic
https://www.instagram.com/laceyjohnsonmusic/
https://www.twitch.tv/laceyjohnsonmusic
https://twitter.com/LaceyJMusic
https://laceyjohnsonmusic.bandcamp.com/
Theology
Hey everyone! I don’t like third person bios so I’m gonna speak to you directly. My name is Theology and I am a VGM Remix producer and DJ from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have been DJing and producing for 15 years and I am a veteran of the trance scene (my previous music was supported by Above & Beyond, Cosmic Gate, and Fatum), but I also create every single genre of EDM. My remixes are melodic and beautiful (as video game music is) but I combine this nuance with really uplifting chords and incredibly dirty bass 😈 You may have seen me recently at VGM Con, 2D Con, Magfest, or on Bonus Stage Van, and I have also just made collaboration remixes with the likes of Vector U, Player2, Lacey Johnson, Gunderslam, Tiggs and more. It has been such an honor to collab with so many of my heroes and be a part of this community! The VGM scene truly has the most talented and accepting people I’ve ever met. Video Game music is special to all of us, and I hope the journey that my music takes you on inspires you in some way shape, or form. It’s a weird world out there, so let’s not only escape together but come out on the other side better equipped to spread the love! I cannot wait to see you at Midwest Gaming Classic 2023!
Subspace
Subspace is a collective of video-mixing DJs. We mix music to a wide array of 8-bit, pop culture, and found footage video; cut up and glitchy for a mind-melting AV experience! We spin only the finest and most choice of EBM, Industrial, chiptunes, house, and synthetic beats!
https://facebook.com/TeamSubspace/
