North America has NAMM, which is trade-only and about the whole music industry. It has Knobcon, which is small, beloved, and in a Chicago hotel. It has a scattering of regional synth meets and modular gatherings that run for a weekend and depend on volunteers.
What it has not had is the thing Europe has in Superbooth — a public, multi-day, electronic-instrument-focused event at a scale where the whole community shows up in one building.
NAESE, the North American Electronic Sound Expo, is an attempt at that. First edition: 9–11 April 2027, at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, Ohio, produced by Million Sides Inc.
The shape of it
Four areas, per the organisers:
- An interactive expo floor — the key word is interactive; you are meant to play the gear
- Sessions and workshops
- Live performances
- Open jam spaces
Exhibitor categories span synthesizers, modular gear, software instruments, MIDI controllers, effects, DIY instruments and sample libraries — which is a deliberately wide net, and notably includes DIY builders alongside manufacturers.
That last inclusion matters. The difference between a trade show and a community event is usually whether a person who builds twenty modules a year in their basement can afford a table. Listing DIY instruments as a first-class exhibitor category is a signal about what kind of room this intends to be.
Tickets
$70 early bird, $85 regular, for a three-day badge. No single-day badges are offered.
Worth flagging, because it changes the travel calculus: you are committing to the weekend or you are not going. For anyone within driving distance of Cleveland that is a minor detail; for anyone flying in, it is the whole trip.
The “First Signal” early-commitment window has already closed for both attendees and exhibitors, but regular badge and exhibit registration remain open.
The open calls — this is the part to act on
The site has a “Perform / Speak” section and an exhibit registration portal. Specific deadlines and submission guidelines are not yet published; the organisers direct enquiries to hello@naese.co or 216.877.2027.
If you perform electronic music, build instruments, or teach anything in this space, this is the moment to get in touch. First-edition events are the easiest ones to get into and the ones where a proposal shapes the programme rather than filling a slot in it. A year and a half out, with no published deadline, means the programme is still being assembled — and an early, specific email lands differently than a late application.
We will publish a proper preview around mid-March 2027, four weeks ahead of the doors opening, and will flag the formal CFP deadline as soon as one is announced.
Where it sits in the 2027 calendar
| Event | 2027 dates | Character |
|---|---|---|
| NAMM | 26–30 Jan, Anaheim | Trade-only, industry-wide |
| NAESE | 9–11 Apr, Cleveland | Public, electronic sound, first edition |
| Superbooth 27 | 6–8 May, Berlin | Public, synths and modular |
| Guitar Summit | 24–26 Sep, Mannheim | Public, guitars and basses |
April is an uncrowded month in this calendar, which is a sensible choice — far enough from NAMM that manufacturers have announced and can now demo, and a month clear of Superbooth so the same small companies are not choosing between two booths.
Whether a first-edition convention-centre event can build the atmosphere that makes Superbooth and Knobcon worth attending is the open question. Convention centres are not, historically, where communities feel at home. But the programme structure — jam spaces, workshops, performances, rather than just a floor of booths — suggests the organisers know that.