"Don’t call it a comeback.” Sorry LL Cool J, no can do. A successful NAMM show in Nashville would earn NAMM “Comeback Player of the Year” honors. Sure, it may not be as dramatic as a phoenix rising from the ashes or the New York Mets rallying for three runs with two men out in the bottom of the 10th inning of the 1986 World Series. But to see a healthy attendance rise would perhaps mean just as much for MI. Quaterbacked by Joe Lamond, NAMM has the team in place to make a comeback during the event taking place from June 20 to 22. After all, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl by defeating an undefeated team. So anything can happen, right? How? To start, enthusiasm for next year’s show is stronger than it’s been in years. And Summer NAMM is not a two-touchdown underdog. Not even close. OK we will cease any future sports or hip hop references for the remainder of the story.
Let’s begin with why people are excited about Summer NAMM’s return to Nashville. “We’ve heard from many exhibitors who are looking forward to returning to Music City USA,” said said Joe Lamond, NAMM’s president and CEO. “And we’ve really tried to listen to our exhibitors’ needs by providing new and affordable options for them to participate. One of these options is a new Club Membership where non-exhibiting companies can purchase a Club badge and receive many of the benefits of exhibiting.”NAMM has received an optimistic response from dealers as well. “Many dealers are very excited about returning to Nashville this year,” said Scott Robertson, NAMM’s director of marketing and communications. “Our entire marketing theme for the show is ‘Celebrating the Local Community Music Store,’ so literally the show is all about the dealers this year. And we know that a number of the buying/sharing groups will be holding meetings during the show in Nashville, which gives more dealers good reasons to attend and make the most of their trip.”
Added Kevin Johnstone, director of trade shows for NAMM, the show floor vibe should follow the positive pre-show comments. “With things changing so rapidly, we think this mid-year check-in gathering becomes critically important,” he said. “The early numbers indicate that it’s going to be a good show. And we know that both manufacturers and dealers are trying to set themselves up for success during the upcoming fall and holiday selling seasons.”
 In addition, Johnstone mentioned one of the biggest changes Nashville attendees will see “will be our need to compress Summer NAMM into the confines of the Nashville Convention Center. The entire show is there, as we are not using the arena space or the connecting corridor. The addition of [the aforementioned] ‘The Club’ option will present some minor changes as more people will have access to the show floor. Overall the attendees will see a comfortable, compact show with more exhibitors in less space and an easy to navigate show experience.”
Convention Space: The Final Frontier
To expand on the Nashville Convention Center, lack of space there was a main reason NAMM initially left. Johnstone admitted the show will be “cozy,” “but we are doing our best to accommodate all of the manufacturers who want to participate. There will be no shortage of buzz or excitement.”Despite what some might call a tight convention center space, there is help on the way. According to Johnstone, the funds are in place and the land has been acquired in an effort to build a new convention center. “They are in the design and review process now and we expect to see digging on the site very soon,” said Johnstone. “The new facility should be available to us in 2012, possibly sooner.”
The proposed new convention center would certainly solve the alleged “cramped quarters” complaint at the current facility. The new convention center would boast 375,000 square feet, three times that of the current location.
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