Professional Lighting & Production - Spring 2018 | Page 10

New Event Technology Segment Propels The 2018 NAMM Show The musical instrument, pro audio, and event technology industries came together in Anaheim, CA for The 2018 NAMM Show, which was held from Jan. 25-28 at the Ana- heim Convention Center and surrounding area. With an increased presence from production technol- ogies exhibitors and attendees, this year’s show featured over 500 educational sessions and 115,085 registered industry professionals, marking a nine per cent increase over 2017.The expansion into the new ACC North build- ing saw increased pro audio and event technology partic- ipation, contributing to a nine per cent overall growth of exhibitors at the show. The Event Technology sessions, as curated by ESTA, The Pro Production Sessions presented by Front of House and Projection, Lights & Staging News magazines, as well as programming from Lighting & Sound America/PLASA, gave emerging and established professionals the opportunity to learn from industry luminaries in a series of sessions and tracks. Lori Rubenstein, executive director of ESTA, says, “ESTA members are extremely pleased about the partnership with NAMM. Attendees are overwhelmed with the number and variety of free professional development opportunities. Member exhibitors have said they are seeing people here they have never seen at other shows. They are mining new markets and most have already signed up for space in 2019.” The annual Parnelli Awards were held during the show’s run. The Lighting Company of the Year honour went to VER for its work on the final Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tour, while Lighting Designer of the Year went to Butch Allen for his work with Paramore and Lighting Director of the Year was presented to Andy Knighton for his work with Rascal Flatts. Next year, The NAMM Show returns to Anaheim from Jan. 24-27, 2019. For more information, contact NAMM: 760-438-8001, [email protected], www.namm.org. 10 | Spring 2018