Music Technology Hackathon — Riga
Dates: 2–3 November 2026 (welcome party: 1 November)
Location: Riga, Latvia — Venue announced soon
Winners showcase: Riga Music Week (dates TBC)
Music Hackspace is bringing a hardware-focused music technology hackathon to Riga — an event built around the city's deep roots in audio engineering and hardware culture, and designed to be a space for learning, experimentation, and making.
Over 48 hours, participants will build new music technology tools using accessible hardware platforms — Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and similar boards — where the creative intelligence lives in the software, but the result is something you can hold and play. This is a hackathon where the question “what if a non-engineer could build this?” is not just welcomed — it's the point.
The event runs Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 November, with 24/7 venue access throughout the build. A welcome party on the Sunday evening gives participants a chance to meet, share ideas, and start thinking about who they want to build with. Winners will present their work as part of the Riga Music Week programme later that week.
We're limiting this edition to approximately 60 participants — which means a more focused, more connected, and more hands-on experience than a large-scale event. Mentors will be deeply embedded with teams throughout. The community partner for this event is Riga TechGirls, bringing expert jury participation and helping us reach a broader and more diverse community of makers across Latvia.
Team formation happens in advance. Once you register, you'll be invited to join weekly calls where you can meet other participants, float project ideas, and find collaborators before the weekend itself. Register early to give yourself the best chance of finding the right team.
Whether you're a seasoned hardware engineer, a musician who has never opened a terminal, or a designer who builds physical things — there is a place for you here. Participation is open to adults aged 18+ only.
Themes & Example Projects
Hardware Instruments & Controllers
- DIY MIDI controllers and physical interfaces using Arduino or Raspberry Pi
- Accessible instrument designs for musicians of all experience levels
- Physical computing experiments for live music performance
Software Engines for Hardware
- Audio processing and synthesis running on embedded platforms
- Open-source effects processors, samplers, and loopers
- Firmware and audio tools for maker boards
Creative Tools for Non-Engineers
- Interfaces that require no coding to explore and use
- No-code and low-code music-making environments
- Hardware-software tools built around artistic workflow
Accessibility & New Interfaces
- Tools that lower the barrier to music making and performance
- Adaptive music technology for different abilities and contexts
- Collaborative environments bridging technical and creative roles
Sponsor challenges and additional tracks will be announced closer to the event. Teams are free to build in any direction within the broad space of music technology — hardware angles are encouraged, not required.
Who Should Join
This hackathon is open to the Riga, Baltic, European, and international music technology community. No prior hackathon experience needed — only curiosity and a willingness to make things.
- Musicians, composers, and producers who want to prototype tools for their own practice
- Hardware tinkerers and makers with a passion for audio
- Audio engineers and embedded developers
- Designers and UX researchers building creative interfaces
- Students and researchers in music, CS, electronics, and related fields
- Artists who want to build something — even if they've never coded before
You do not need to code to be central to a team. We are explicitly looking for musicians and artists to act as creative leads — defining the problem, curating sounds and interactions, and guiding the product vision.
Register early so we can match you with the right collaborators on our weekly team formation calls before the event.
Schedule at a Glance
Sunday 1 November — Welcome Party
- Evening welcome party — meet your fellow hackers, share ideas, and start thinking about what to build. Venue and exact time to be confirmed.
Day 1 — Monday 2 November
- Welcome, introductions and overview of the hackathon
- Team formation and idea pitches
- 48-hour build begins — 24/7 venue access from now
- Mentor check-ins and evening progress sharing
Day 2 — Tuesday 3 November
- Final hacking sprint and polishing
- ~16:00 — Team presentations to the jury
- Results, prizes, and closing celebration
Later that week — Riga Music Week
- Winners showcase their project as part of the Riga Music Week programme. Exact dates to be confirmed.
Exact times and venue details will be announced closer to the event and shared with all registered participants. All times will be in Eastern European Time (EET).
Prizes & Opportunities
Riga Music Week Showcase
The winning team will present their project as part of the Riga Music Week programme — sharing their creation with music industry professionals, artists, and technologists from across Europe and beyond.
Recognition & Opportunities
A jury of music technology practitioners and community experts will select standout projects. Selected teams may be invited to share their work in follow-up showcases, talks, or features across Riga Music Week and Music Hackspace channels.
Pathways Beyond the Weekend
We want promising ideas to keep moving. Whether your project becomes an open-source tool, a product, or an ongoing collaboration — we'll help connect the strongest teams with opportunities to continue their work through the Music Hackspace global network.
Mentoring
Expert mentors will be available throughout the hackathon weekend to support your team on hardware, audio programming, UX for creative tools, and turning prototypes into real projects.
Jury
Jury details will be announced soon.
Code of Conduct
We are committed to a welcoming, inclusive, and harassment-free environment for everyone taking part in the hackathon.
Please read and follow our Hackathon Code of Conduct.
Intellectual Property (IP)
Who owns what you build
We want teams to build boldly, and we want this to be clear from day one:
- Your team keeps 100% ownership of what you create during the hackathon.
- Music Hackspace and sponsors do not take ownership of your project IP.
- You're free to continue developing your project after the event — open-source it, commercialise it, publish it.
Using sponsor APIs, SDKs, or tools
- You still own your project code, design, content, and ideas.
- Your use of a sponsor's API or SDK is subject to that sponsor's licence and terms.
- If you want to ship your project beyond the hackathon, check the relevant sponsor terms first.
Organiser
Community Partner
This event is supported by Riga TechGirls as community partner — providing promotional support and expert jury participation, and helping us connect with a broader and more diverse community of makers across Latvia.
Winners will present their work as part of the Riga Music Week programme — sharing their creations with music industry professionals, artists, and technologists from across the region.
Sponsors
Sponsor announcements coming soon.
Register Interest
Capacity is limited to approximately 60 participants. Register your interest now to be notified as soon as applications open — and to join our weekly team formation calls where you can meet other participants and start building your team before the weekend.
You can arrive with a project idea or come solo — we'll help you find the right collaborators in advance. Whether you're a developer, musician, hardware maker, designer, or researcher, there's a place for you.
See a Previous Edition
Recap from a previous Music Hackspace hackathon edition.