Europe's Biggest Bang: Musikmesse

You don't need to be a German or even an European to have heard about Musikmesse. It's simply the largest musical manifestation of the old continent and this year it looks like it will be even bigger than before: 200 product presentations, more than 30,000 instruments form 50 countries, 1,600 exhibitors from around the planet. Well, what do you say?

The 2007 Musikmesse will have its doors open between March 28th and 31st so if you're in Central Europe and are looking for one hell of a music tech event, then Frankfurt on Main is the destination for you!

As Musikmesse is not just an event for technology of sound but for the artists who will use it, it's quite natural that some of them get prized for their efforts. The Musikmesse prizes have reached their 25th anniversary this year and the winner of the award for 2007 is Peter Eotvos, Hungarian conductor, composer and teacher - he'll get 15,000 Euro cash and the official ceremony will have Felix Sammelroth, Frankfurt's Chief of Cultural Affairs delivering the prize to Eotvos at the Frankfurt City Hall this evening, March 27th.

Since the Musikmesse is a German-made event, Germany will also prize its best: Pöllmann - Krahmer GbR Kontrabassbau for the double bass "Imperator" model. The other prize goes to Kühnl & Hoyer Musikinstrumentenfabrik GmbH for the "Orchestra Bass" trombone. Other categories will prize the products in categories like Best innovative product, Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards / Software, Live-Sound, Recording or Dance/Groove-Gear. More info on the prizees and everything related to awards can be found here.

Big names in music will also attend the 2007 Musikmesse so you can get the chance to meet and greet David Garibaldi, Dave Mustaine, Billy Ward, Europe, Billy Sheehan or even the metalheads from Children of Bodom. And as it came to artists I must note that Musikmesse is really open to music and artists: this year' edition will feature a band-battle between young names like Revolverheads, Die Killerpilze and Nevio. The winner gets to play in Germany's big festival Rock am Ring and will also get a USA tour.

Now, having mentioned all these brief pieces of news, I really regret I can't make it to Frankfurt this week, since the 2007 Musikmesse looks more than alluring. For further information, click here.