Sweetwater will present GearFest ’14, a celebration of musicians and the instruments and equipment they use to make music, on Friday, June 6, from 9am to 6pm, and Saturday, June 7, from 9am to 5pm, at 5501 US Hwy. 30 W., Fort Wayne IN. GearFest is free and open to the public. GearFest is the largest music trade show open to the general public in the United States, featuring a combination of gear expo, entertainment events, flea market, musicians’ mecca, and educational and musical demonstrations and workshops by some of the biggest names in the music industry.
GearFest will host a multitude of musicians performing and in workshops continuously in six different venues. Featured guest is drummer Jason Bonham, son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, and drummer for more recent music projects of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Other musicians include bass player Billy Sheehan; drummer Kenny Aronoff; guitarists Jason Hook, Shaun Hopper, Don Carr, Devin Townsend, Emil Werstler, Carl Verheyen and Brad Davis; keyboard player Larry Dunn; and many more.
The marquee event at GearFest ’14 is Saturday’s Producer’s Panel, featuring an unprecedented gathering of producer/engineers, including Bruce Swedien (Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Count Basie), Bob Clearmountain (The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen), Ed Cherney (Eric Clapton, Bob Seger, The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Mick Guzauski (Daft Punk, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mariah Carey), Ross Hogarth (Van Halen, Motley Crue, REM), Richard Chycki (Aerosmith, Rush, Mick Jagger), Bil Vorndick (Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, Bela Fleck) and Fab Dupont (Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Bon Jovi). The panel, which will discuss a wide range of music recording and production topics, will be moderated by Sweetwater Editorial Director, and noted author/journalist, Mitch Gallagher.
Special GearFest features include hourly giveaway drawings for free music gear—totaling more than $72,000—from Gibson, Fender, Antelope, Focal, Moog and many others. Also, attendees can bring a guitar for a free restringing and setup, enjoy great food, and get a first look at the just-completed 132,000-square-foot expansion of the Sweetwater campus.
The entire GearFest ’14 schedule of events is available online at http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/gearfest/schedule.php.
To speed up the registration process at the festival, you can pre-register online; visit http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/gearfest/register.php.