The 2006 NAMM Summer Session finds itself in a new and most appropriate setting – Austin, Texas, the self-proclaimed “live music capital of the world.”

The show, which runs July 14-16, convenes at the Austin Convention Center in the heart of Texas. Thousands of representatives of the international music products industry will converge to see new and exciting offerings from the hundreds of companies that will exhibit.

The NAMM Sessions are music equipment (product) trade shows that occur twice a year. The January winter session is staged in Anaheim, California. NAMM shows are “industry only;” their primary purpose is to give manufacturers a showplace to display both new and existing product lines to music stores and other retail outlets.

When attendees aren’t busy taking in exhibits, they can enjoy a variety of other activities such as concerts and free NAMM University educational sessions, which address industry-relevant subjects including sales training, market development, product buying tips, online rentals, music lessons, money-saving business services and more.

And for a break from things musical, attendees can get a taste of the Lone Star State’s capital — a city that National Geographic Traveler has named one of its “50 Places of a Lifetime.” In addition to sampling some of Austin’s more than 150 live music venues, which range from real Texas honky-tonks to the world-famous Antone’s “Home of the Blues,” visitors can fill up on Tex-Mex and barbecue, visit the State Capitol or go for a swim in Barton Springs Pool.

More information on Austin is available at www.austintexas.org.

This originally appeared in Modern Guitars Magazine