It’s January, which means that it’s time to prepare for the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Show—the world’s most comprehensive gathering of musical instruments, gear, and experts. The NAMM Show, held each January in Southern California, unites over 115,000 registrants from 130 countries.
This is a conference where almost every music instrument or gear manufacturer on the planet comes to Anaheim, California to show their new products. Over 100,000 people attend on Saturday alone. Along with be allowed to preview the latest advancements and innovations in gear and instruments, NAMM attendees also enjoy the rich culture of music through performances, clinics, demonstrations, celebrity sightings, and networking with other professionals in the biz.
While the NAMM Show is not open to the public (qualified music professionals only) Making Music writers will be there (January 15-20) and will give you a glimpse of what’s happening at the show through videos, interviews, reviews, and articles both during the show and in the days and weeks after it ends.
Here is a brief video of a few select live performances we saw at the 2019 show:
Here is a video of our experience in 2018 — One hour’s worth of walking through NAMM in 5 minutes.
As one strolls and navigates the through NAMM Show, they might often stumble upon musicians visiting booths in a mutually endorsing fashion. Sometimes you know who they are and sometimes you discover a new favorite artist. In the past, we’ve seen Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Bootsy Collins, Steve Morse, The Appice brothers, Elton John, Lee Sklar, Michael McDonald, Nathan East, Bernard Purdy, Muriel Anderson…. it goes on and on.
For more info about the NAMM Show, check out their website at www.namm.org/thenammshow/2020.
