From July 17, 2014 The Music Trades
An exuberant, standing room only crowd filled the Davidson Ballroom on the eve of Summer NAMM to hear “Insights,” a wide ranging conversation between 20 time Grammy winner Vince Gill, also known as the “Honorary Mayor of Nashville,” and Tom Bedell CEO of the Bedell and Breedlove guitar companies. Last year, Gill and Bedell hosted a similar session with a panel of top industry executives. This year, the session was centered around Gill and his band, “The Players.” Introducing the group of top Nashville players, Bedell said, “We wanted to give you an idea of what players expect of their instruments and equipment, and how they think.” Recounting his experiences in working with music industry manufacturers, Gill got a laugh from the audience saying, “My daddy always asked me, ‘why is it when you didn’t have two nickels to rub together, no one would give you anything, and now that you have all the money you need, people are beating down your door to give you free stuff?’” He added, “I first visited a NAMM show in 1977 when I was a 19‐year‐old kid. It completely blew my mind,and I still feel the same way. I love the stuff you do.” The session concluded with Gill and his band composing an original song on stage. “This is how we work in the studio,” he said. The “Insight” session was a fitting opening for Summer NAMM as it returns to the new Nashville Convention Center for the second year. On the strength of positive results at last year’s show, exhibitor participation edged up approximately 2% to 440. NAMM is also anticipating a similar bump in buyer adiendance. Welcoming dealers to the show, NAMM CEO Joe Lamond said “We’re grateful for your support and want to make sure you have a memorable experience in Nashville.” He added, “Great exhibitor support and a great venue are what make Summer NAMM.”
