NAMM’s 2026 Grand Rally Brings Music Education Back Into Focus
Every year, The NAMM Show moves fast. New gear, packed halls, nonstop meetings, and a calendar that barely leaves room to breathe. The Grand Rally for Music Education has always functioned as a necessary pause inside that chaos, and in 2026, it feels especially well timed.
Taking place on Saturday, January 24, the Grand Rally will once again bring the focus back to why the industry exists in the first place: access, education, and long-term participation in music. Hosted by NAMM and The NAMM Foundation, the event closes out the show with a morning built around performance, storytelling, and perspective rather than product cycles or sales targets.
This year’s Rally brings together artists, educators, students, and industry professionals in a shared space that reframes music education as infrastructure, not charity. Breakfast is served, early entry passes are available, and the room fills early for a reason. This is one of the few moments at NAMM where everyone is listening for the same reasons.
Artists Who Teach By Example
The 2026 Grand Rally features performances and appearances from Victor Wooten and Chad Smith, two musicians whose careers make a strong case for education through lived experience rather than abstraction.
Victor Wooten’s presence at the Rally always lands with weight. His approach to music education centers on listening, community, and musical literacy as a human skill, not a competitive one. His performances tend to blur the line between demonstration and dialogue, which fits the Rally’s tone perfectly.
Chad Smith’s appearance follows the launch of the Chad Smith Foundation, which supports scholarships, access to instruments, and music education for young people. Known globally for his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smith brings visibility to a simple idea that the industry often overlooks: opportunity shapes talent long before success validates it.
The Rally also highlights The Roots of Music, a New Orleans–based organization using music education, academic support, and mentorship to preserve cultural heritage while creating real pathways forward for young musicians. Their inclusion grounds the event in action, not just intention.
Why the Rally Still Matters
In an industry driven by cycles of release, innovation, and visibility, music education rarely fits neatly into quarterly planning. The Grand Rally exists to challenge that imbalance. It connects future creators to the people building the systems that support them, and it reminds professionals that the health of the industry depends on participation far upstream.
Presented by Marshall Amplifiers with additional support from Yamaha and Musora, the 2026 Grand Rally reinforces NAMM’s long-term commitment to music-making across the lifespan. It’s not a side event. It’s a statement about what sustains the industry when trends move on.
