Summer NAMM 2020 has been cancelled due to coronavirus

Summer NAMM 2020 has officially been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The annual musical instruments trade show had been scheduled to take place from 9-11 July in Nashville, Tennessee.

The announcement was made earlier today by NAMM chair C.F. Martin and President/CEO Joe Lamond, who said in a statement: “The current circumstances make it impossible to hold the show or to undertake the many months of careful planning and preparation that are required to create a secure and organised event.”

In lieu of the event, NAMM has pledged to focus on “guiding [its] members to the financial relief that so many badly need through the CARES Act”, referring to US government’s relief package to help businesses and individuals see through the COVID-19 pandemic.

NAMM is also working on “sourcing and sharing” best practices in music retail and online music education in order to help affected music businesses “survive these unprecedented economic times”. Resources and tools will be published on the NAMM website, the organisation added.

“As difficult as these days are, we gain strength and inspiration from the generations of NAMM members who came before us, overcoming every obstacle in their way,” Martin and Lamond said in the statement. “And in that spirit, we can just imagine the heartfelt celebrations that will occur when we are all together again in Anaheim next January [for The NAMM Show 2021].”

Summer NAMM 2020 is the latest in a string of trade shows, festivals and gigs to have been canned or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. A few weeks ago, Musikmesse announced that it will be rescheduled to a later, unspecified date. SXSW, the festival/conference in Austin, Texas, has also been called off for the first time in its 34-year history.

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