February 15, 2024

13^th Annual AXPONA will feature All-Star Musicians, Industry Experts, and Guest Appearances

 

Schaumburg, IL (February 15, 2024) — AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) returns to the Schaumburg Convention Center,  April 12-14, 2024 with three jam-packed days of incredible sound, technology, seminars, live music and the very latest products in the industry. One of AXPONA’s most popular features includes live concerts nightly and this year’s musicians will not disappoint.

On Friday, April 12 at 8pm, Chicago’s very own Bobby Broom, a celebrated jazz guitarist and performer will take the stage. Broom was born in Harlem, NY and raised on New York City’s Upper West Side where he began studying the guitar at age 12. He attended the High School of Music and Art, where he played in the jazz ensemble and received an award for Outstanding Jazz Improvisation during his senior year. Broom’s first release of exclusively original compositions Upper West Side Story (2012) reached No. 1. on the College Music Journal jazz chart and was in the Jazz Week and Down Beat Top Albums of 2012. Today, Broom calls Chicago home and teaches Chicago high school students for the Ravinia Festival Organization’s community outreach Jazz Scholar Program.

The Secret Sisters, a celebrated singing duo and real-life sisters, will close out AXPONA’s live concerts on Saturday, April 13 at 8pm. The Alabama-based country-folk pair, featuring the talents of siblings Lydia and Laura Rogers, emerged in 2010 with a sound that combines effortless harmonies, sharp songwriting, and a shared love of country music’s rich history. The sisters’ third album, You Don’t Own Me Anymore, was produced by Brandi Carlile and Tim and Phil Hanseroth, mixed by Grammy-winner Trina Shoemaker, and recorded by Jerry Streeter. The album also garnered the duo’s first Grammy nomination, in the category of Grammy Award for Best Folk Album, The Secret Sisters’ fifth studio album, Mind, Man, Medicine will be released on March 29, 2024.

“Our attendees, exhibitors, and partners always look forward to AXPONA’s live concerts and we try to mix it up each year, bringing in a diverse group of performers,” said Liz Smith, AXPONA. “We are excited to welcome Bobby who has an incredible following both locally and nationally, and Lydia and Laura who are releasing a new album right before AXPONA 2024!”

AXPONA will also feature a full Seminar schedule with guest speakers including industry experts, media personalities and manufacturers on the latest audio themes and trends. This year’s must-attend Seminars include:

Friday, April 12

YouTube: The Future of Audiophile Content?
10:30am
Just as music releases have gone from LP to CD to downloads and streaming—audio reviews and sales have gone from print on paper, to text online, to podcasts and video. Join us as we talk with three popular YouTubers, as we explore the medium’s use for both reviewers and retailers. Is this the wave of the future? —or is the future already here?

Moderator: Bill Leebens, Content Chair, AXPONA; CEO, LM&M. LLC

Panelists:

Randy Messman, Cheap Audio Man
Lenny Florentine, Just Audio
Ron Brenay, New Record Day

 

Michael Fremer’s World-Famous Turntable Set-up Seminar

1:15pm
In this one-hour hands-on seminar, analog evangelist extraordinaire Michael Fremer will show how to correctly set-up a turntable, install a cartridge and optimize its performance. A question-and-answer period follows, time permitting.

Speaker: Michael Fremer, Editor-in-Chief, TrackingAngle.com, Senior Editor, The Absolute Sound

Saturday, April 13

Second Time Around: The World of Reissuing and Remastering

11:45am
It’s an old record, right? How hard could it be to put it out again?
Bringing out a reissue of a record may seem straightforward, but from the legal wrangling over rights and royalties, through the technical challenges of working with less than perfect —or completely missing!— masters, improving the original without destroying its character, through the challenges of pressing and packaging, it’s a long and winding road.

This seminar features leaders in the field who have revitalized the world of LPs and brought back old favorites as well as obscure and unrecognized gems. They’ll describe the processes involved and the highs and lows of reviving old recordings.

Moderator: Michael Fremer, Editor-in-Chief, TrackingAngle.com, Senior Editor, The Absolute Sound
Panelists:
Chad Kassem, Owner, Acoustic Sounds
Shane Buettner, Owner, Intervention Records
Julia Miller, President/CEO, Delmark Records
Abey Fonn, Founder, Impex Records, Senior Product and Business Development, Elusive Disc and AudioFonn

 

Speaker Design: Inside and Outside the Box

2:15pm

Four respected speaker designers discuss the philosophies, technologies, and materials that have shaped the way they make their magic. While there have been incredible advances in materials science, computational analysis, and predictive modeling—speaker design is still a tricky balance between art and science, reliant upon the ears, judgment, and skills of the designer.

Moderator: Bill Leebens, Content Chair, AXPONA; CEO, LM&M. LLC
Andrew Jones, Chief Loudspeaker Designer, MoFi Electronics
Jeff Joseph, President, Joseph Audio
Matthew Webster, CEO, YG Acoustics
David Fowler, Managing Director, Stratton Acoustics

For more information about AXPONA and its full Concert and Seminar line-up, please visit www.axpona.com.

 

ABOUT

AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) is North America’s largest event for audiophiles, manufacturers of high-end audio equipment, musicians and music lovers. The three-day experience features 190 high fidelity listening rooms, providing guests the enviable opportunity to experience the newest technology in high-end consumer audio products. Attendees are encouraged to go from room to room and sit, listen and compare the various systems. The Expo Hall and Ear Gear Experience play host to thousands of products and accessories from cables to headphones to LPs and SACDs.  Beyond the exhibits, AXPONA includes live musical performances and educational seminars with industry experts and demonstrations.

 

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