NAMM 2025 Recap
NAMM 2025 was another spectacular event, and seems to have been the busiest we’ve witnessed yet – high energy, hundreds of simultaneous showcases, demonstrations, and deals, plus the usual cacophony of instruments and voices.
Before we headed into the Convention Center, however, the pre-NAMM event to kick off the week was the Metal Hall of Fame. This year featured the inductee lineup of: Dimebag Darrell, Rikki Rockett, Tony MacAlpine, Dangerous Toys, Life of Agony, KNAC Radio, Alissa White-Gluz, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, Cannibal Corpse, Burton C. Bell, and Jeff Young, plus performances from Kill Devil Hill, an All-Star Jam, and so much more. Check out Metal Magnitude’s coverage of the Metal Hall of Fame 2025, including Red Carpet Interviews with Marc Lopes, Wicked, Pat Gesualdo, Alissa White-Gluz, Eddie Trunk, Burton C. Bell, Britt Lightning, and Tommy London, here:
Or here:
The next morning kicked off the official NAMM happenings at the Anaheim Convention Center, and our exploration of the show floor showed many familiar brands and faces, with the Rock, Hard Rock and Metal genres all maintaining a strong presence amidst the comfortable chaos. Todd Kerns of Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators was the first we ran into, and he gave us a look into his connection with the Prestige Guitars brand, including his signature model:
A NAMM-adjacent event that took place just down the road at the House of Blues was Metal Allegiance, a show sponsored by Jackson, EVH, Charvel, and IK Multimedia featuring fantastic openers leading into an All-Star Metal lineup, including several surprise appearances. Check out the full event coverage at:
Jeff Loomis made an appearance at the PreSonus booth, for a session called “(Re)Amped Up: Tracking Guitars with Jeff Loomis”, where he wrote riffs on the spot, demonstrating how he records and builds tracks with the help of the PreSonus Studio One DAW. He also discussed the Toneforge® Jeff Loomis plugin, working with Andy Sneap, how drums influence his writing, and more. Find the full session footage below:
Metal Magnitude also had the opportunity to interview Jeff Loomis after the PreSonus session, talking about his appreciation of Jackson guitars, appearance at the Metal Allegiance show, and more:
Ultimate Jam Night was another special evening event at NAMM, where 80+ musicians took the stage alongside a 30-piece orchestra and 80-person choir, jamming to a huge variety of classic Rock and Metal amongst other surprises. The lineup featured Host Paulie Z, Alissa White-Gluz, Doug Aldrich, Alex Skolnick, Frank Bello, Kenny Aronoff, Donnie Vie, Stu Hamm, Alex Kane, Derek Day, Roberta Freeman, Rachel Lorin, Ira Black, Hal Sparks, August Zadra, Marten Andersson, Sean McNabb, Debby Holiday, Norwood Fisher, Michael Starr, Phil X, Bryan Beller, Dewey Bragg, Doc Coyle, members of Red Devil Vortex, and so many more. You can find the full review with photos here:
We caught a performance from Nova Twins at the Marshall Booth, featuring a few snippets of their latest music while they answered audience questions about their songs and gear…
…then chatted with Amy and Georgia right after, covering their new single “Monsters”, connection with the Marshall brand and label, inspirations, and more.
Madame Mayhem and Percy Trayanov also stopped by the Marshall Booth, discussing their new single and music video for “Sinking Ships”, the evolution of Madame Mayhem, and more:
Ryan Malicsi of Hot Mulligan showed his signature guitar at the Reverend Guitars booth:
Jeff Young discussed his Metal Hall of Fame Induction, his new band, the Jeff Young Group, and their upcoming album rEvolution at the Ellefson Coffee Co. booth:
We also found Becky Baldwin hanging out at the Ellefson Coffee Co. booth as well, and got an update on the latest news from Mercyful Fate and Fury:
Sharon Lia sat down for an in-depth interview discussing the Ladies Who Rock 4 A Cause foundation and festival, her journey as a musician, and latest release, Expanse:
We caught Ralf Dietel and Niki Skistimas of KrashKarma by the Ibanez booth, promoting their Hollywood show and sharing their band origins:
Kieran Robertson, of Faster Pussycat and the Geoff Tate band, shared the latest updates and projects he’s working on with his various bands:
Margarita Monet and Doug Weiand of Edge of Paradise chatted with us about their NAMM activities, new album “Prophecy”, latest music video for “Death Note”, and more at the Rock Music Alliance booth:
Just around the corner, we ran into Ira Black at Shark Guitars. He spoke about his Ultimate Jam Night performance that week, his connection with Shark Guitars as their new A&R Rep, and his connection with Thomas Nordegg – best known as Steve Vai’s guitar tech, who happened to be present at the booth. The pair showcased a rare Steve Vai Evo guitar, on which Ira gave a special exclusive performance. Ira also gave a demo of Shark Guitars, and discussed his organization, Guitars For Kids. You can see it all here:
Finally, the last event to close out Metal Magnitude’s NAMM 2025 coverage was the 13th Annual She Rocks Awards, featuring Rockers like Stitched Up Heart – whose very own Mixi was honored with an award – alongside industry legends such as Gibson’s Beth Heidt and Shure’s Christine Schyvinck. You can check out the full She Rocks 2025 Red Carpet interview footage at:
Special thanks to Metal Magnitude Media Assistant Alissa for photo contributions and all videography!
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