Your 2023 Fretboard Summit Lineup
A quick glimpse of nearly every brand exhibiting at our big Chicago guitar hang...
The 2023 Fretboard Summit doesn’t take place till August 24-26, but it’s already exceeded my expectations. Beyond all the great musicians participating, we’ve got our strongest lineup of exhibitors and brands ever. I can’t think of any other open-to-the-public guitar show that has this mix of bigger brands and independent luthiers.
We’re relaunching our fretboardsummit.org site with our new branding this week and most of the lineup. In the meantime, here’s but here’s your sneak peek at all who are exhibiting:
Bigger Brands
Martin Guitar Co
Santa Cruz Guitars
Collings Guitars
Yamaha
Bourgeois Guitars
Rode
Henriksen Amplifiers
Taylor Guitars
Preston Thompson
Galloup School of Lutherie
Acoustic Coffee
Pacific Rim Tonewoods
Pre-War Guitars
D'Addario
Iris Guitars
Huss & Dalton Guitars
Northfield Instruments
Smaller / Indie brands and luthiers…
Bruce Guitars
3 Bender Guitars
Acoustic Remedy Cases
Bashkin Guitars
Dammann Custom Instruments
FE Tellier Guitars
Grez Guitars
44H Guitars
Halland Guitars
Hoffee Case
Lamehorse Guitars
Lane Guitars
Maegen Wells Guitars & Mandolins
Michael Kennedy Guitars
Muth Guitars
R. Robinson Guitars
Saers Guitars
T. Drew Heinonen Guitars
Tyson Soth Guitar Co.
Woolson Soundcraft
Phoenix Guitars
Bruce Guitars
Motander Guitars
Noemi Guitars
Gallagher Guitars
de Wit Guitars
M-Tone Guitars
Cedar Mountain Mandolins
Laroche Lutherie
Cardinal Instruments
Lockhorn Instruments
Treehouse Guitars
Black Bobbin
Leavitt Stringed Instruments
Kostal Guitars
Uberfrank
Big Hollow Guitars
Cedar Creek Custom Case Shoppe
Flammang Guitars
Mojotone
Reywas Guitars
J. Rieck Lutherie
Shock the Fox
Baranik Guitars
Widman Custom Electrics
Chicago School of Lutherie
Lattanze Guitars
Lyon and Healy
Bashkin Guitars
Hybrid Guitars
Note: Most of the luthiers will be offering guitars for sale. Most of these brands are showcasing never-before-seen and new instruments. Nearly all of them will have their head designers/builders present (ie Bob Taylor himself will be attending for Taylor; Steve McCreary will be attending for Collings). It’s next to impossible to meet many of these people outside of a NAMM setting or visit to their individual factories.
Another two dozen or so legends of lutherie - including Wayne and Jayne Henderson, Mark Stutman, TJ Thompson, etc - will be on-hand, too. As will Josh Scott (JHS), Robert Keeley, Heather Brown, Chris Benson (Benson Amps) and probably a dozen other names I’m forgetting.
Even if you’re not in the market for new gear, this is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pick the brains of some of the most brilliant builders and makers in our industry. And, when you’re tired of geeking out, we have three nights of live music, jam sessions and parties where you can relax with your new friends.
Our three-day All-Access ticket to the Summit is at the cheapest price it will ever be: $350. This includes all the concerts, workshops, speakers and the guitar showcase. I’d love to see you in Chicago and I’d love to sell this event out (don’t worry, there will still be plenty of room) so that we can make it an annual tradition.