jump up and join the band on their instrument of choice , which a few did – including Yorkville ’ s own Steve Das and Chris Gauthier , the latter of whom led a crushing cover of Neil Young ’ s “ Rockin ’ in the Free World .” Tons of fun .

The party was still in full force when I left , hoping to get a good jump on the first day of The NAMM Show 2017 – and I actually did .

Walking to the Anaheim Convention Centre from the Disneyland Resort area , I passed right by ( and underneath ) the massive addition to the venue set to open in the fall of 2017 . The two-level addition will boast hundreds of thousands of square feet of space , 10,000 sq . ft . of balcony space , and parking for an additional 1,350 vehicles – all of which will have a massive impact on the look and layout of future NAMM Shows , so something to look forward to for next year .

The opening day of the show is a busy one across the board , but especially so for team Canadian Music Trade , as in addition to a slew of appointments and press conferences on the show floor , we ’ re also getting ready for our annual NAMM Canadian Reception at the nearby Sheraton Park Hotel .

Despite all of that , I try to keep the first half of the day free to get the lay of the land in the exhibit halls and make sure invitations for that night ’ s party get into all the right hands . Doing so gave me the impression that the halls were a bit busier than usual for the opening day , though I can ’ t say that with certainty .

Yorkville Sound ’ s Pre-NAMM Kickoff Party at Ralph Brennan ’ s Jazz Kitchen .

Every time I walked by , the NAMM Idea Center in the atrium was packed – a great sign , as I ’ ve often felt some of the show ’ s outstanding educational programming has gone painfully unappreciated in the past .

On the note of education , NAMM had made clear leading up to this year ’ s show that they ’ re looking to strengthen their focus on pro audio and live production technologies , and that was certainly reflected through the TEC Tracks programming . Each day of the show had a theme – Live Sound and Lighting , Futurism , Recording , and Music Business – with more than 75 sessions featuring some big names in the pro audio and production worlds , including Peter Asher , Tom and Chris Lord-Alge , and Mark Frink .

The show also offered dedicated Dante training sessions , which reportedly welcomed a capacity crowd .

When I ventured upstairs , I did notice more people buzzing around the Software . NAMM exhibits than I recall from last year , when the initiative premiered . Hosted in partnership with IMSTA ( the International Music Software Trade Association ), the area featured music software and app developers showing off their latest offerings in a designated space on the second level .

After a few meetings , I headed over to the

NAMM ’ s Joe Lamond ( left ) & Dan Del Fiorentino ( right ) present CMT Publisher Jim Norris with a NAMM Believe in Music Award .

Hayan Charlston

performs to a full house at the CMT NAMM

Canadian Reception .

CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE • 27

Photo : Courtesy of NAMM