Thursday, June 23rd, was the first day of the 2016 Summer NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) convention. The three day summer gathering at the Music City Center in Nashville,TN was a great opportunity for exhibitors and buyers to get a first hand look at some of the best and newest products on the market. The NAMM show also provides panels and discussions through NAMM U and TEC that help merchants network and learn new strategies to help grow their business.
Aside from the panels and exhibitors booths, there were also a handful of activities that convention goers could attend. The legendary Charlie Daniels was a guest at the NAMM opening party Thursday evening, and other fun events like the World Fastest Drummer competition, the Top 100 Dealers Award Ceremony and Summer NAMM Best in Show, all which were very popular with attendees. Also, with the convention being held in amazing musical city of Nashville, the night life provided an ample amount of good food, great music, and entertainment for convention guests.
The show featured the return of some top manufacturers such as Taylor Guitars, Martin Guitars, Ernie Ball, Blackstar Amps, Boss and Roland. I also spotted a few newcomers such as Greer pedals and amps, and the Jambourine. Statistics showed that there was a 5% increase in exhibitors since last years 2015 show. Roughly 1,650 brands were represented by 517 exhibitors. Also, with around 14,000 industry professionals registered for the event, it showed an increase of 1% over the previous year, making this year a great success. Over the next few weeks, we will be featuring some of the new products by some of the manufacturers that we were able to meet with at the convention.