ANAHEIM, CA — No, it wasn’t a fluke. The partnership that helped bring the 17th annual Parnelli Awards gala to NAMM 2018 and Anaheim, CA this January has been extended at least to NAMM 2021, according to a mid-March agreement struck between PLSN publisher and Parnelli Awards executive producer Terry Lowe and Joe Lamond, NAMM president/CEO.
“I believe our efforts to welcome the hard-working men and women of the live sound and production worlds to NAMM and celebrate their achievements at the Parnelli Awards show was absolutely the right thing to do,” said Lamond.
“It really couldn’t have turned out better — the first year completely exceeded our expectations,” added Lowe. “We brought the vast majority of those previously committed to the Parnelli Awards, plus a lot of new companies and professionals. It’s allowing the show to grow in ways we hadn’t considered.”
NAMM 2018 was a record-setter, in terms of attendees (115,085, up 7.6 percent), exhibitors (1,931, up 9 percent) and international attendees (19,356, up 8 percent). The Parnelli Awards, meanwhile, also scored one of the highest turnouts ever, with more than 600 attending.
And more than a few of the top caliber pros attending the gala also lent their expertise to the educational programs staged by Timeless Communications, publisher of PLSN, FRONT of HOUSE and Stage Directions magazines.
“This year, our team came up with 10 great panel discussions and seminars on important topics led by the absolute greatest award-winning live event professionals,” Lowe said. “It was an unqualified success, and we look to build on that, creating more learning opportunities by expanding on the seminars.”
And although some might perceive NAMM as mostly about musical instruments, Lamond sees the event as “a crossroads, where music, sound, live event tech and other ecosystems come together.”
“The thing that NAMM was able to accomplish — and is a great testimonial to what NAMM stands for — is that they brought all these organizations together to make this a healthy show for entertainment/tech/live sound people,” Lowe added. “In addition to the Parnelli Awards, and their association with PLSN and FOH magazines, there was also ESTA, AES, and other organizations all brought together to make it worth any live event professional attendance.”
The 18th annual Parnelli Awards gala will take place in Anaheim, CA on Jan. 25, 2019. For more information, go to www.parnelliawards.com.
