City College music students attend the NAMM show (with gallery)
Music Club travels to Anaheim for one of the world’s largest music trade shows
Music Club President Bernard Clark, left, Music student Rusty Dickson, center, listening to Audio Engineering Society member Brian Gibbs, right, talk about student chapters of the AES at the Anaheim Convention Center during the NAMM show, April 14, 2023. Photo by Joel Nevarez/City Times Media
April 20, 2023
An estimated 40,000 people descended upon the Anaheim Convention Center for the NAMM show from April 13-15.
The National Association of Music Merchants’ annual event is one of the largest music trade shows in the world.
The event saw people from all over the world fill the convention center to see the latest innovations coming from the music industry.
Among the sea of musicians, distributors and manufacturers was the San Diego City College Music Club.
For music students and members of the club, the opportunity to be around like-minded people and industry-leading professionals was one they couldn’t pass up.
“Just to be surrounded by people who are just as passionate about being in the community and the industry … it was really powerful,” said Bernard Clark, commercial music major and president of the Music Club. “It was like, wow, you’re at this place that people only dream of attending.”
The size of the show was something that caught Clark by surprise with what seemed like an endless amount of things to see and do.
“There’s no way you can see it all,” Clark said. “It felt like I barely scratched the surface.”
City College music professor Mike Espar compared it to when Comic-Con takes over Downtown San Diego.
“It’s like if you put Guitar Center into the San Diego Convention Center (and) just spread it out (and) just made the world’s largest Guitar Center in the convention center,” Espar said. “It’s crazy.”
The NAMM show was attended by famous musicians and other influential figures in the music Industry.
One was Kevin Breuner, a member of the rock band Small Town Poets and senior vice president of artist engagement and education at CD Baby, a music distribution platform.
Breuner hosted an education session and shared strategies on how to distribute and release music in today’s social media age.
“Fans have decided that’s where they’re going to enjoy music. So you either have a choice to have your music there or not,” Breuner said when talking to attendees. “You’ve got to sell to people.”
Clark hopes to be a performer and work in the music industry. Attending NAMM gave him some new insights into what he would want to do in the future.
“It definitely opened my eyes to potentially more avenues I can pursue within my own musical career,” Clark said.
Clark is now back at City College planning the Music Club’s next Open Mic Night taking place on April 27.
Espar was impressed his students took the initiative to attend, which he helped make happen by providing them with discounted tickets.
“I’ve always found participating in anything like that, whether it’s a convention in our industry organization, especially as a student, it makes you feel a part of the larger community,” Espar said.
