The 27^th Annual Dallas Guitar Show and MusicFest 2004 will be held Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18, at a new location. The popular annual event is moving to Dallas Market Hall, a new, larger venue that is close to Downtown Dallas and easily accessible from IH 35. The 214,000 square foot Market Hall is located at 2200 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, Texas, 75207, and provides free parking for show attendees.

The Dallas Guitar Show hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 17-18, and MusicFest hours are noon to 6 p.m. each day. One-day ticket price for both the Guitar Show and MusicFest is $15 for adults and children 11 or older; free for children under 10. Tickets for both April 17 and 18 are $25; all tickets are available at the door.

The Dallas Guitar Show and MusicFest is the world's largest and oldest guitar show, blending musicians, fans, collectors and celebrities together into one musical extravaganza. Visitors can buy, sell, trade, or just browse among the thousands upon thousands of new and vintage guitars, basses, amps, banjos, mandolins, straps and strings, effects pedals, keyboards, music memorabilia and more. Rub elbows with guitar legends and up-and-coming artists.

Listen to the best local and regional bands at MusicFest's indoor and outdoor stages, including the winners of the Texas 10 Under 20 contest co-sponsored by the Dallas Guitar Show and MusicFest and Texas Music Project.

This Show of Shows will feature 500 booths, exhibits and clinics, and live concert performances on three stages. There will also be a live auction featuring memorabilia from Icons of 20th Century Music, and special exhibits featuring musicians like Dallas legend Stevie Ray Vaughan.

More than 13,000 people are expected to attend, with over $3 million of instruments and memorabilia trading hands. For more information, call the Dallas Guitar Show and MusicFest 24-hour hotline, Metro 972-260-4201, or visit their website at www.guitarshow.com.

Sponsors for the 27^th Annual Dallas Guitar Show and MusicFest 2004 are: “Dallas Observer,” Musician's Hotline, Blue Book Publication, Guitar Center, Charley's Guitar Shop, Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Division, Ernie Ball / Music Man, Odyssey Auctions, Hard Rock Café, Jimmy Wallace Guitars, Sound Southwest, and Transpecos Guitars.

Sponsors for the Texas 10 Under 20 Contest are Broadjam, 102.1 The Edge, Luminous Sound Studios, TAXI, Smitty Ink, ProAudioEngineer.com, George L's, Planet Waves, Olympia Guitars, D'Addario Strings, Evans Drums, Guitar World magazine, Guitar 1 magazine, and Texas Music Project.

Dallas Guitar Show Founders Mark Pollock and Jimmy Wallace

(Excerpted from an article by Ron McKeown in “Buddy, the Original Texas Music Magazine”)

Guitarists never worry about how they look in front of the camera. They know they are cool, 'cause they have the guitar. They will search to the ends of the earth to find the one that will give them that expression. It can be beat to hell, the varnish long ago washed from the body by alcohol and sweat, but that's okay. If the guitar looks cool, well it is cool!

For more years than can be counted using all fingers and toes, Mark Pollock and Jimmy Wallace have been sought out for their knowledge of the stringed instruments. They have welcomed both The Legend and the young high schooler into their shops and their enormous extravaganza, known today as the Dallas Guitar Show. For a couple of days each spring, they provide a fine setting for the original and longest-running vintage guitar show in the world.

THE GUITAR SHOW

There aren't many musicians who are able to parlay their love of playing into a lifelong career; those who do are few and fortunate. Both Wallace and Pollock are in that category, possessing the rare combination of guitar artistry and business acumen that has enabled them to live their entire lives in the music world successfully.

Pollock and Wallace have both had considerable success as players and businessmen; but both believe that their best times are "Now!," according to Wallace. "In the Bible, after Job's many trials," Wallace continued, "God said the second part of his life would be far greater than the first."

The two usually attend about ten shows a year. Wallace explained, "All of the other shows are in the vein of a gun or antique show - no music, no pipe and drape - just focused on buying and selling vintage instruments.” The key to evaluating a prized vintage instrument isn't that simple of an equation either, according to Wallace. Things to consider are market demand, rock star visibility of the instrument, video visibility (MTV, CMT, VH1), the condition, the originality, current sales precedents, a rare or custom color, a limited edition or early part of a manufacturing run, and especially the sound of the instrument.

When asked what made them so successful as a team, Wallace offered, "Mark's never-ending commitment to the advancement of this show and his love and devotion to whatever project he has committed himself to. If he is on your side, he will take a bullet for you." A more reticent Pollock answered, "Jimmy seems to like guitars. A lot."

It might be stating the obvious, but both do.