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Music Lovers, ‘Gear Up’ for Sweetwater Fest

By Peggy Werner

For musicians across the world, this time of year is music to the ears. That’s because it’s time for Sweetwater GearFest, one of the nation’s biggest gatherings dedicated to music equipment.

Held exclusively online this year, from June 25-26, this free, action-packed event includes online seminars, workshops, live performances, artist appearances, some of the best deals of the year, giveaways, and, most of all, the latest gear news and products offered by Sweetwater, an online music equipment retailer headquartered in Fort Wayne, Ind. There’s nothing else like it, says Bob Bailey, executive director of GearFest.

“The Deal Zone is the first place people run to, and we have customers from all over the world wanting to meet up with the hundreds of companies showing the latest products and gear for recording artists,” he says.

Panels of engineers, producers, light designers, and award-winning songwriters and musicians will talk about what they do. Watch demonstrations and videos featuring Sweetwater experts and vendors. Attendees will get the inside scoop directly from manufacturers.

GearFest is traditionally held on Sweetwater’s 163-acre campus, but it “pivoted” to an exclusively online event last year because of COVID-19.

“This year’s online GearFest has been greatly expanded and improved with more presentations, more big-name artists and better deals,” Bailey says.

Among this year’s headliners are Grammy-winner Peter Frampton and Bassist Ian Hill of Judas Priest. More bigname artists will be announced soon.

Sweetwater is the largest online music retailer in the world. It sells a wide range of equipment, offering free shipping and two-year warranties. The company’s 500 sales engineers, many of whom are also musicians, are thoroughly trained on the latest gear and personally assigned to a client.

“That one-on-one approach is at the core of what we do,” says Heather Herron, vice president of corporate communications. “It’s not about the sale, it’s about helping our friends make their dreams come true.” ❚

Join GearFest online at sweetwater. com/gearfest. The Sweetwater headquarters music store is located at 5501 U.S. 30, Fort Wayne, Ind., (800) 222-4700.