Guitar Center Business Solutions Hosts Inaugural Resonate ExpoOn April 9, Guitar Center Business Solutions hosted Resonate, its inaugural integrated technology expo, at Nashville's Music City Center. The free one-day event brought together all the account managers across the Business Solutions brands, 30-plus key manufacturer partners, and hundreds of industry professionals, innovators and creators for a day of education, demonstrations and live experiences focused on the future of audio, video, and integrated systems. Nashville was selected as the host city for its reflection of today's converging markets and its status as headquarters of Guitar Center Business Solutions, which includes Audio Video Design Group (AVDG), Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), Custom House at Guitar Center and the Guitar Center Music Foundation. Curtis Heath, Guitar Center business solutions president, gave the opening remarks, followed by a diverse lineup of sessions and experiences. Highlights included a standing-room-only keynote presentation from coach Micheal Burt, presentations from leading manufacturers such as Shure, Logitech, QSC, Legrand, and Electro-Voice, a live radio broadcast from WSM Radio's Lexi Carter, an appearance by the Titans Cheerleaders in support of Guitar Center's partnership with the Titans' new Nissan Stadium, and a Nashville songwriter round featuring hitmakers Josh Phillips and Brock Berryhill. The program also included a Guitar Center Music Foundation segment and concluded with a Pro Audio Solutions Panel titled Technology, Workflow, and the Modern Creative Process, featuring Nashville-based award-winning audio professionals F. Reid Shippen, Raelynn Janicke and Jamie Moore. "Resonate was an excellent opportunity to bring together all the Business Solutions account managers, our key manufacturer partners and decision-makers across music, education and enterprise," remarks Heath. "As systems are converging faster than organizations can adapt, the industry needs clear leadership around how everything connects, and Guitar Center Business Solutions is proud to meet that challenge. The Resonate expo marked a firm tentpole in that journey, with plenty more to come." Resonate explored the tools shaping today's creative and technical workflows, with a program of presentations offering insight into emerging technologies and industry trends. The event reflects Guitar Center's continued evolution into a full-scale professional ecosystem serving schools, studios, venues and commercial environments nationwide. As pro audio increasingly intersects with AV and networked systems, Guitar Center Business Solutions created Resonate to meet growing demand for education, connection and real-world insight. Leading members of the professional audio and commercial AV communities who exhibited at Resonate share their thoughts on the event's success: "What intrigued us about Resonate was its different approach, bringing together GC Pro, Custom House and AVDG to engage a broader, more diverse customer base. It gave us the opportunity to connect with both internal teams and end users in a way that really aligns with the depth and breadth of Shure's product portfolio. Overall, it was a fresh, well-executed format, and we're excited to be part of something new and evolving," states Jeff McDonald, senior sales manager, Shure North America. Like Shure, manufacturer QSC, developer of the Q-SYS network-based audio, video, and control platform, expresses their enthusiasm for participating in Resonate. "The event really highlights the strength of our partnership with AVDG, giving us the opportunity to connect face-to-face with their team and customers in a way that's far more impactful than virtual interactions. The caliber of end users here has been exceptional - truly some of the highest-quality audiences I've seen at any show in recent years," comments Travis deLinde, area manager, Q-SYS (QSC). Samantha Murnane, channel account manager, neat., echoes deLinde's thoughts: "The expo has been incredible, and we're grateful to be connecting in person with AVDG, Custom House, Guitar Center Professional and customers from both local and national markets. The feedback on our partnership continues to be overwhelmingly positive, and we truly value the opportunity to work together." The Guitar Center Music Foundation maintained a strong presence at Resonate, combining fundraising, live performance, and advocacy for music education. The Foundation was represented by chair Heath, CFO Camber Zamperini, executive director Myka Miller and representative Michelle Wolff. The Foundation hosted a main-stage presentation on the importance of music education, introduced by Scott Lang, founder of Be Part of the Music, reinforcing its mission to advance the healing power of music. The program featured a performance by the White House Middle School Choir, one of the Foundation's grant recipients, led by choir director and music teacher Kendall Hoeffler. A silent auction also supported fundraising efforts, highlighted by the sale of a signed Gibson Les Paul guitar from Slash. Overall, the Foundation's participation showcased its mission in action -- raising funds, amplifying student voices and demonstrating the impact of music education. The day's final presentation was the highly anticipated Pro Audio Solutions Panel Technology, Workflow, and the Modern Creative Process, moderates by Custom House at Guitar Center's Davey Rieley. It featured F. Reid Shippen, a 12-time Grammy-winning producer and mixer and co-founder of ONCE.app; Raelynn Janicke, mastering engineer at Infrasonic, with credits including Zach Bryan, Lake Street Dive, Benson Boone, The Shins and Hudson Westbrook; and Jamie Moore, a multi-No. 1 songwriter whose work has been recorded by Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw and Morgan Wallen. The discussion explored how technology integrates into today's creative process, from songwriting and production through mastering, while highlighting how different creators rely on different tools and workflows to bring ideas to life. 
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