Sweetwater Moves GearFest 2020 Online

Fort Wayne, IN (May 7, 2020)—For years, Sweetwater’s annual GearFest has brought thousands of audio professionals and music makers every June to the company’s headquarters in Fort Wayne, IN. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, however, the pro-audio retailer will move GearFest 2020 online, holding this year’s edition on June 26 and 27.

“While we’re certainly disappointed that we can’t host GearFest on our campus this summer, we hope that by creating an online event we can reach even more music makers and music lovers than we have in the past,” said Sweetwater founder & CEO Chuck Surack. While it will be a virtual event, GearFest will still feature seminars and workshops from artists, as well as live music, giveaways and deals on gear.

The company already has plenty of experience providing its educational GearFest offerings online—at GearFest 2019, more than 28 hours of workshops and sessions at GearFest were streamed live online, with 250,000 people watching from afar. Onsite, the event drew its largest attendance ever with 17,000-plus people (up 13% over 2018), rolling out 81 live workshops and seminars hosted by 72 pros.

Sweetwater Opens 480,000-Sq-Ft. Distribution Center

“We are in the early stages of planning, but we are working hard to create an exceptional experience, even though we’ll be doing it from afar,” said GearFest executive director Bob Bailey. “Our vendor partners are excited about offering some great deals and are helping to create some one-of-a-kind opportunities for those who join us online.”

Sweetwater GearFest • www.sweetwater.com/gearfest.