There are no two ways about it – this year’s Music Show was an outstanding success. Despite the lean economic times, the numbers coming through the doors were well up on previous years – a sure sign of the massive interest in all things musical in this country. The queues outside the main entrance from opening time onwards told their own story, while inside, thousands of music fans – they were young, old and loads in-between – milled around the historic RDS Main Hall creating the kind of atmosphere that would be difficult to describe to anyone who wasn’t in attendance. You really did have to be there to experience it.

The live shows, seminars, workshops and master classes were universally packed out and in many instances, oversubscribed. Throughout the weekend, the exhibitors’ stands in the main exhibition area were thronged with a mixture of everyone from the serious-minded muso to the curious enthusiast. Well-known musicians, young hopefuls and family groups mingled together, checking out the impressive array of instruments and gear on display. The hard-working staff manning their posts certainly had their work cut out for them. Virtually every strand of the music business was represented in some shape or other and there was huge interest in the stands – whether that of music superstore X Music, the long established Dublin family firm Walton's Music Distribution, or more specialist players like Big Bear Sound and A.M.P. Distribution, among others.
The brilliant range of Gibson and Epiphone guitars, among a huge variety of instruments, looked brilliant on the Walton's stand. The Roland space, facing the front door as people came in, was a hugely impressive statement of intent.
Lesley Kane of the newly established KMI Distribution, who handle Pearl drums noted the growth in the number of serious musicians attending this year’s show. “I think there was definitely more end-users there compared to previous years,” she observed. “We had a world launch of a Marshall product and it was very well received.”
She also noted an increase in the dealers in attendance this year, many of them praising the unique atmosphere of The Music Show. “We did business with all the dealers we met,” she says, “and I had comments sent to me from various international visitors, who said they loved the atmosphere around the place. Business is business but it’s rock and roll after all, and the atmosphere is important. It’s a huge effort on all our parts but it’s making people aware that they can buy products in Ireland rather than from foreign-based internet companies.”
Aidan McCullough from Keynote Music, distributors of high end brands such as Martin Guitars, Meinl percussion and D’Addario strings, said he was more than happy with his experience of the event. “I found this year to be very good,” he enthused. “I’m happy – that’s for sure.” The Keynote stand was busy throughout the weekend with all sorts of actiivities designed to attract and impress – and it worked.
Adam Leddy of The Sound Shop, Drogheda immediately pointed out that the attendance at this year’s show was at an all-time high. “There’s been a really fantastic crowd coming through our stand compared to previous years,” he said. “We’ve collected a lot of names for our mailing list and for the various competitions we’ve been running over the weekend. We’re all a bit exhausted – but it’s all good as far as I’m concerned.”
Tom Peterson, from Kilkenny Vintage Guitars, Ireland’s first guitar shop strictly devoted to high-end used, vintage and reissue guitars (including Fender, Gibson, Martin, Rickenbacker and Guild), who created a brilliantly imaginative stand for the second year running, was also highly impressed with the numbers. “I think it’s been a really good crowd this year and we’ve had plenty of interest in our guitars, which are unique compared to others I suppose. We’ve certainly been meeting all the right people, as well as meeting up with some old friends, which is always nice.”
Conor Mulhall of Macro Music Wholesale, distributors of the highly regarded Godin Guitar range among other brands, was also lavish in his praise of this year’s event. “It was by far the best show yet in terms of enthusiasm,” he says. “We were delighted with it. Considering the times we’re in, we found the crowds were genuinely interested in what we had to offer, rather than being casual browsers. And there was a good atmosphere too which made it more enjoyable. It was a really great weekend."
Meanwhile, as I scooted by their excellent set-up, the reps on the Yamaha stand, who were exhibiting at The Music Show for the first time, were too busy demonstrating their range of digital pianos and keyboards to even chat, but they quickly professed themselves delighted with the response to their impressive display of gear – and got back to work!.
Not surprisingly there was huge interest among the crowds this year in the non-stop live demonstrations by expert musicians at many of the stands. Just inside the main entrance, a large crowd gathered around the Roland stand, where master drum-teacher Mark Grist was busy demonstrating the impressive capabilities of the V-Drum electronic kit, which sounded just as good and is possibly even more versatile than any conventional kit. Grist (who has his own drum school and who has “drum tech-ed” for the likes of The Corrs) showcased every conceivable style, from rock to dance to funk. “It’s been manic,” he said, taking a well-earned break from the drum stool. “The interest in the V-Drum has been incredible not just from the younger players but from a lot of the older guys too.”
We spoke to Pete Holidai of the Ballyfermot College of Further Education – otherwise known as The Rock School (alma mater of Mundy and Damien Dempsey among others), which had a strong presence at this year's show. “Maybe the recession has meant more people are turning to the music industry but we’ve never had so much interest in our music courses,” he offered. “We have one guy who was a successful stockbroker but who has now decided he wants to be in the music business.”
That left just enough time to check out the impressive line-up of guitars from the Fret-King Blue Label range at the JHS stand; the aptly-named Orange Amps at the MusiCo stand; and all the latest Tanglewood Guitars at the Halnon Music Distribution stand. "It was a great show," john Halnon said, with a cheerful glint in his eye. "We're really glad we decided to be here."
I check my watch – it’s 6:30pm on Sunday. While The Music Show is now officially closed, there are still hundreds of die-hards intent on making the most of the gear on display and not looking like they’ll be ready to leave the building any time soon. So, I make the most of the opportunity with a final stop-off to test the latest line of amplification systems from Bose (where I'm suitably impressed), before heading off into the night with an extremely impressive Christmas shopping list!