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A few days ago I received an email from Adrian Low, owner of Audio Excellence, a Toronto-area Wilson dealer, inviting me to a demo of the Sabrina by Wilson Audio Specialties' Peter McGrath (above)

Canadian music fans are breathing a collective sigh of relief in the wake of a ruling by a federal justice that sharing music over the Internet doesn't violate the nation's copyright laws.

CanJams are about much more than skull-testing the newest headphones. They are the best places for all audiophiles to audition innovations in amplification, file servers, and digital converters and to jabber and bond with students, hipsters, gamers, and brainiacs from every part of the demographic spectrum. When the Jam is in New York, at the Marriott Marquis, it's like a being in a secret stadium lit neon-purple with white, vinyl-covered lounge chairs sheltered from the 100dB cauldron of Times Square tourism.

The inaugural Canlanta is being held this Saturday, May 21, 10am–6pm, in Atlanta, Georgia at the Marriott Century City. Twenty vendors will have the latest in latest in DACs, amplifiers, and headphones on display. Exhibitors will include Noble, Questyle, Oppo, Sennheiser, Kimber Kable, Empire Ears, Violectric, Meze, and Cavalli. National retailers include HeadphoneAudiophile and Sight+Sound Gallery, and Tyll Hertsens, editor-in-chief of Stereophile's sister site InnerFidelity.com, will deliver the keynote speech.

Just nine days after Independence Day, the third annual Capital Audiofest unfurls its banner with the hope of life, liberty, and good sound for all. Scheduled for July 13–15 in the three-story Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rockville, MD, the show promises up to 40 exhibit rooms stocked with enough high-quality equipment to send Paul Revere galloping from port to post declaring, "The Audiophiles Are Coming!"

For a one-man effort that began with 14 or 15 rooms in a Rockville mansion, the Capital Audiofest has grown considerably in its short existence. An idea birthed at a party—a group of well-lubricated audiophiles, meeting for their annual post-CES bash at the home of Ijaz Kahn, sat around lamenting that there hadn't been an audio show in DC since the 1980s, and when they had finally sobered up, exactly one, Gary Gill, pictured above at last year's Show, found himself committed to following through–the Capital Audiofest has expanded into a major show that will draw upwards of 1500 eager attendees from as far as Canada, Florida, and the Midwest.

With AXPONA's shift to Chicago, the Capital Audiofest has become the only high quality audio show on the East Coast south of New York City. Taking place July 26–28, CAF has relocated to the newly remodeled Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, a superior and eminently accessible venue that has double the number of large exhibit rooms as last year's Crowne Plaza in Rockville, MD.

Located inside the Beltway, just three blocks from the Metro line, CAF will take place just 1 mile from the DC city limits. With 44 exhibit spaces booked as of July 17, many of which will display major brands, show organizer Gary Gill is optimistic that attendance will far exceed last year's under-1000 estimate.

So there I was, in the parking lot of the Rockville Hilton, cigar smoke curling into the crisp autumn air, grilling Gary Gill about his brainchild, Capital Audio Fest (CAF). This East Coast audio extravaganza has grown into a monster, bursting at the seams of its Rockville venue.

Capital Audiofest has canceled its 2020 show, previously scheduled for October 30 through November 1, and announced dates for 2021.

The three-day Capital Audiofest runs July 8–10 at the Hilton Hotel at Twinbrook Metro in Rockville, MD. With new, noon–8 pm opening-day hours designed to accommodate 9-5ers eager to top off their Friday with great sound, and completely renovated rooms that should offer even better acoustics than before, the at-capacity show promises 38 exhibit rooms (including 14 large rooms and one two-room suite), and a combined Marketplace/CanMania with 20 exhibitors total. Put that all together, and you end up with 103 exhibitors and brands combined.

From a small regional show, Gary Gill's seven-year old Capital Audiofest has grown into the East Coast Show of 2017. Set for November 3–5 in the Hilton Hotel Twinbrook in Rockville, MD, CAF will offer 57 exhibit rooms spread over three floors plus the hotel Atrium. That amounts to 93 exhibitors and over 200 brands, including a CanMania with 20 headphone vendors. For a show that, just last year, maxed out at 40 rooms with 65 exhibitors and 85 brands, this represents major growth.