JULY 20 I SWEETWATER I EVENT
GearFest Breaks Records

Sweetwater’s recent GearFest 2010 broke every record. The two-day event took place on June 25 and 26 at Sweetwater’s campus in Fort Wayne, Ind. Overall attendance increased by more than 50 percent, and onsite sales also exceeded the previous record by more than 50 percent.

The annual end-user-oriented music and pro audio festival featured manufacturer exhibits, workshops, clinics, seminars, live demos, performances and a musician’s flea market. Key events included a producer forum led by Sweetwater Editorial Director Mitch Gallagher; the story behind Gretsch Guitars with Fred Gretsch, company president; and a presentation on home studio acoustics by acoustics expert Russ Berger.

In total, GearFest included more than 40 workshops and seminars on the guitar, recording, live sound, computer music creation, acoustics, songwriting and electronic instruments. David Grissom and Greg Koch, along with dozens of other nationally known artists, performed on the latest gear.

More than 170 musical instrument, music technology and audio equipment manufacturers were on hand to give attendees a look at the latest gear. Prizes were given away hourly, along with three grand-prize packages worth more than $75,000.

“There’s literally nothing like GearFest in the entire country that is free and open to the public,” said Chuck Surack, Sweetwater founder and president. “We’re thrilled that hundreds of manufacturers and thousands of customers came out to enjoy this amazing event with us.”