Acting Locally: SF Music Expo 2025 Show Report

KVR Show Report: SF Music Expo 2025

SF Music Expo was founded in 2014 by Loic Maestracci to bring together local Bay Area music creators for education and networking. Originally held at The Chapel in San Francisco's Mission District and later moved to SAE Expression College. After returning to in-person events post-Pandemic, the conference has been held at locations like Music City San Francisco. This year's event took place November 14–15 at The Midway in San Francisco, with its programming centered around themes relevant to modern production, including Immersive Audio and AI in Music Creation. It took place in a 1,700-square-foot immersive audio room and an exhibitor floor with several pro-audio hardware and software manufacturers, the most prominent of which was Focusrite. The two days events attracted more than 700 music passionatos of all shapes and sizes

There appears to be a trend to more localized exhibitions like the SF Music Expo and SynthPlex in Los Angeles is a contrast to National Associations of Music Merchants (NAMM). NAMM happens in Los Angeles, CA, attracts a huge number of international attendees, andis designed to appeal to every kind of musical instrument. More localized events can be designed to meet the interests of particular music centers. In the case of the SF Bay Area, it's tech, tech, tech...

Key Technology Themes

The 2025 iteration of the Music Expo underscored several critical areas of development for audio professionals, especially for the large SF Bay Area contingent of music producers and makers.


Immersive Audio Recording and Mixing received lots of attention, with multiple workshops and panels dedicated to both Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio. Primary sponsor Focusrite Group highlighted their involvement by showcasing the integration of ADAM Audio A Series monitors with Focusrite Red and RedNet solutions in the immersive audio room, providing hands-on spatial mixing sessions. Educational sessions included topics such as "Beyond Stereo: The Art & Strategy of Mixing in Dolby Atmos" and "Mastering in Immersive/ Future format."


AI in Music Creation and Workflow: The potential for Artificial Intelligence to integrate into the music production workflow was a core topic. Programming focused on leveraging AI as a creative collaborator, with sessions like "AI and Music Creation: Beyond the Plugin: AI as a Creative Partner." This addressed the practical application of AI tools in sound design and composition rather than focusing purely on generative music.


Electronic Music Production & Sound Design: This remains a foundational theme for the Expo. Sessions covered technical topics such as MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) and synthesizer sound design workshops, reflecting the continued importance of creative synthesis and advanced controller technologies.


Friday

The first day was devoted to Songwriting.

The Keynote: A Conversation About Success in Songwriting and Production with Oak Felder featured Grammy winner Oak Felder (Grammy-winning producer and songwriter) and Khris Riddick-Tynes, fresh off Kehlani’s chart-topping Folded, closed Day 1 with a powerful keynote on the realities of songwriting, production, and sustaining creative excellence.

One session, Songwriting techniques to turn ideas into songs, featured several successful songwriters. They included

Andre Pessis (Huey Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Mr Big, Tim McGraw)
Larry Batiste (Van Morrison, Kygo, Whitney Houston)
Asia Lopez, 4SIA Music Producer/Audio Engineer

Memorable advice for songwriters was to stay true to one's own experience and tell a story from some part of it. The two most important elements being the chorus and the opening line of the lyric.

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Saturday

Saturday featured two tracks; Artist Development and Immersive Audio.

Sam Gutman explores MPE

MPE and the Future of Keyboard Performance featured impressive demonstrations of the ROLI Seaboard 2 and Airwave. The ROLI Seaboard was one of the first MPE controllers to come on the market, along with Roger Linn's Linnstrument. Musician and YouTube educator Sam Gutman demonstrated the products, and discussed how MPE is expanding the capabilities of modern keyboard performance.

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An important point was that keyboards can now be as expressive as guitars, but, with so many moving parts, there is a learning curve for anyone.

At the same time one could see new controllers and protocols a counter to AI music. AI can't scrape this music until it actually exists. The next step will be compelling music that can only be made with these tools.

Focusrite Group was a primary sponsor of the event. They were there in force demonstrating products from their various brands, like the KVR Reader's Choice I/O winner Scarlett 18i20, the new Sequential Fourm synthesizer and the not so new Oberheim OB-X8.

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Focusrite Group was thrilled to be back as Music Expo’s Title Sponsor. Across two action-packed days, we connected with passionate creators who were eager to explore our latest audio solutions. Our synthesis workshop with the new Sequential Fourm synth was a clear highlight, and we loved hearing how our products are showing up in people’s real-world workflows. It was an inspiring, high-energy event from start to finish.
Hannah Bliss, VP of Marketing for Focusrite Group Americas

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Exhibitor Highlights & Demos

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The exhibition floor offered attendees hands-on access to equipment from over 20 manufacturers, focusing on both hardware and software integration. While the show did not feature extensive product debuts, it provided a platform for demos of recent releases and upcoming workflow integrations.


Output was present, showcasing their loop-based plugin Arcade, alongside their newer offering, Co-Producer, which assists users in finding samples that complement an existing track.


Steinberg highlighted their established presence in music technology, specifically demonstrating their Cubase, and the VST standard they pioneered.


Focusrite Group (including Focusrite, Novation, ADAM Audio, Sequential, and Oberheim) utilized their title sponsorship to illustrate cohesive studio solutions, ranging from audio interfaces to monitoring and analog synthesis.


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The event also featured hardware manufacturers such as Neumann (microphones and monitoring), Audeze (planar magnetic headphones), Solid State Logic, and Warm Audio, allowing engineers to evaluate tools in a controlled environment.


Educational & Networking Focus

An Intriguing Seminar Title

Beyond product demonstrations, the Music Expo emphasized professional development and technical education. Expert-led sessions involved Grammy-winning engineers and producers discussing topics such as mastering in immersive formats, R&B vocal tracking, and essential P&E Wing studio guidelines. The conference structure supported a high degree of interaction, with one-on-one mentoring and demo listening parties for direct creative feedback.

One session was entitled "Everyone is High, Drunk, or Distracted: Market Accordingly" and featured:

Stefan Aronsen, Co-founder, Balanced Breakfast
Saul Spady, CEO, Cre8ive Empowerment & Founder, Quality of Life Coalition
Maria Chaos, Founder & Director, Doll Fest
Trixie Rasputin, Independent Booking Agent & Promoter

You can learn more about the programming for the 2025 event, including topics like Immersive Audio and the role of AI, in the video from the 2024 edition:

YouTube.com/watch?v=nukyGK3UdQg Read More