Critical Hit is a symphonic rock band performing electrifying live concerts of music from the most celebrated video games of all time.
Featuring Jason Hayes, composer of the original World of Warcraft score and current Music Director at Riot Games (League of Legends), the band’s unique sound blends a variety of musical styles from rock to classical to electronic and beyond.
Critical Hit’s award-winning musicians record for top-grossing video games, movies, and TV shows and perform live at The Emmy’s, Cirque Du Soleil, American Idol, symphony orchestras worldwide, and more.
Embark on a rediscovery of timeless pieces from The Legend of Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Super Mario Bros, Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear Solid, Pokemon, Call of Duty, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, Tetris, and more!
About the Founders
Jason Hayes
Co-Founder, Composer, Keyboard/Percussion
Jason composed the original score to World of Warcraft and is currently Music Director at Riot Games, the makers of League of Legends. He has also contributed scores to Dota 2, StarCraft, StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, Warcraft III, Diablo II, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. His compositions have been performed by renowned symphony orchestras worldwide.
Jason currently resides in Santa Monica, California. He is excited to bring his enthusiasm for video game music on stage to every Critical Hit live performance.
Michael Gluck
Co-Founder, Executive Producer
From 2003 – 2007, Michael performed video game and anime music piano charity concerts under the stage name “Piano Squall” to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, in support of a cure for the disease that took his grandmother’s life. He toured Brazil as part of the orchestral game music concert series Video Games Live, with performances in Brasilia, Curitiba, and Rio de Janeiro. Michael released his debut charity album, entitled GAME, which became the first video game/anime piano solo album to be published by an independent musician.
In 2007, Michael founded VGM, which is today the largest provider of market research to the video game industry.
In 2013, Michael and Jason Hayes created Critical Hit, bringing live video game music concerts to gamers worldwide.
Michael studied business and Japanese at the University of Pennsylvania.
