Boston Bitdown respawns this March 5-8 for its second edition, expanding the chiptune fun to four days and welcoming a lineup of more than 50 musicians and visual artists to stages strewn from Salem to Somerville.
If you’re new to “chiptune,” note that the video game-influenced aesthetic is less of a genre, more of a mashup of styles and sensibilities united by the power of the almighty microchip. Bleeps and bloops might be involved, and plentiful power outlets are de rigueur.
A provocative list of headliners reflects the breadth of the chiptune’s possibilities at Boston Bitdown 2. Electro hip-hop from Mega Ran. Acid and metal house from Nullsleep and Siberia Zero. Live coding from Switch Angel. Video game tunes from OG game soundtracker Mega Drive Rex (David Javelosa, audio director at Sega of America from 1989-1996) and his old-school postpunk crew Los Microwaves. Plus local chiptune favorites Battlemode.
The visual end of the spectrum will be colored in by Zebbler’s Crew, a group of artists led by Zebbler (aka Peter Berdovsky, professor of the digital projection arts at Berklee College of Music), that will provide visual accompaniment to the sounds at the Cyberpunk Showcase at Capitol Theatre on Friday and Bitrave at Crystal Ballroom on Saturday.
For the full lineup and ticket information, visit the Boston Bitdown 2 website.
We checked in with one of the principal organizers of the festival, David “Biff” Jubinsky, to ask him he was faring in the land of chiptune. The interview has been edited.
Are you ready?
No. Festivals are a horrible idea. Never do one. Ever. (You know, I am just kidding!)
How far back did the idea get hatched for a Boston Bitdown?
It was sometime around March 2024. I remember tweeting (this was all pre-Musk), “Attn chiptune lovers – block off 3/8/25 on your calendars. You can just label it ‘Gameboy thing’ for now.”
At the time, my band Battlemode was trying to pull off stunts to get noticed. We’re still trying to pull off stunts to get noticed! My bandmate, Astro (the “ideas guy”), said that we should do a chiptune festival. So I, “the execution guy”, overconfident and toxically optimistic, took it upon myself to get the fest realized.
It wasn’t supposed to be what it is now. I think we were just trying for a single day at a single venue. When I approached the idea to my co-organizer, Rob Carballo of Geekbeatradio, he wanted to go big. Three days, multiple venues, chiptune artists on top of chiptune artists.
In just our first year, we became the largest chiptune fest (in terms of artists booked) in the world. And were nominated for Music Festival of the Year at the Boston Music Awards. We lost to Boston Calling, which Battlemode performed live at – delivering the first Gameboy solo in the festival’s history – earlier in the year. So maybe we won after all.
Once you decide that “Oh, we’re definitely doing this event in 2026,” how far in advance does planning and preparation need to happen?
After Bitdown 2025 concluded, I think the team took one week off, and then we jumped right into 2026 planning – booking the venues, artist inquiries, schedule building, grant writing and sponsorships. It was immediate. It had to be.
We’re already building 2027. We semi-have the 2027 lineup built, and we know what venues we’re shooting for. We have some good grant strategy rolling to keep growing and keep expanding the initial vision.
What was the biggest challenge organizing for 2026?
Expanding our mind frame. We’re starting to learn that a successful festival with longevity cannot be viewed year-by-year. One must look at it through a broad scope, seeing the bigger picture – maybe five years in advance. It’s about the full Bitdown story, not just any singular edition. Bitdown 2026 is directly in front of us, but we’re starting to have sketches of Bitdown 2030. It’s about thinking how the step in front of us can affect the journey off the beaten path.
When the event arrives, do you still have a lot to do, or is it kind of just “sit back and watch the madness unfold”?
There’s still a lot to do! Our main focus this year is documenting. Bitdown 2 is gonna be a blast, but Bitdown 3 has to be the moment Bitdown 1 and 2 were leading up to. We’re building our résumé up and we need to let people know what it means to be the biggest chiptune fest in the world. Capturing the moment is gonna be essential to convince the normies to give chiptune a shot.
What are some lessons you learned from the 2025 edition that you applied to 2026?
Focus. Bitdown 2025 was a success, but I was so distracted. We had two awesome events leading right up to Boston Bitdown. A screening/concert of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and a drag/music fest, SexFest. Also, I was dating someone, which took up so much energy at the time. This year, we left February completely blank: No shows, no events, just prep leading up to Boston Bitdown. Also I’m single this year, so that helps. The reserved energy to focus on marketing, strategy and communication has really helped evolve Bitdown 2026!
For music lovers new to this kind of music, what are some tips to help them get acquainted?
It’s video game music! We’re not a video game fest, but we are derived from the 8-bit timbres. People love these sounds because it brings them back to Mario, Mega Man, Sonic and whichever other video game character we cherish. It’s about colors, joy and warmth.
What’s the best gaming console ever?
Ha! The most beautiful game in the world is Mega Man 2 for the NES, however, I had a whole romance with the Gamecube – Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime and of course Super Smash Melee. What I wouldn’t give to go back to being 22, studying at community college, an Americana restaurant waiter, staying up till 5 a.m. in my mom’s basement playing Gamecube.
That long and winding road led us to Boston Bitdown …
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