I love going to gear trade shows – the reps who love their brands, the artists walking around, the attitude of everyone involved coming together for the thing they love – GEAR! It’s always a fun time, and Sweetwater GearFest 2017 was no exception. It was my first time going (somehow!) and I made some great connections, met some Gear Mortals who you will see on camera a bit, and played with some cool stuff. I even got to see Eric Johnson and Jason Richardson play! Finally got the chance to go down the slide, which I did several times (all I had to do was chuck some small children out of the way).
The main difference between GearFest and some other shows like NAMM is that everything is for sale. There’s a huge Open Box tent where you can get mad deals on gear and everything throughout the whole show has a price tag on it. That makes for a very interesting and G.A.S.-inducing experience.
It’s a free event, so be sure to go next year if you have the means to travel to the one-horse town of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, I highly recommend it!
