The first-year festival celebrates motorsports, music, and car culture all in the heart of Sin City, November 3-4, 2023.
Since 1963, SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) has represented the global specialty-automotive industry, bringing together aftermarket manufacturers, dealers, clubs, restorers, and passionate car, truck, and SUV enthusiasts. The crown jewel of SEMA’s events calendar to date is the prestigious SEMA Show, a grand trade show historically closed to the public, drawing tens of thousands of buyers, sellers, and professionals in the automotive aftermarket industry to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The SEMA Show is like no other industry trade show on the planet. It’s also the absolute best place to discover the newest automotive performance products and the latest vehicle trends. This November, the SEMA Show is evolving into SEMA Week with the ultimate hook: letting the public hop in for the ride.
Where car show meets music festival
WIth new concepts, activities, and celebrations, 2023’s SEMA Week will cater not only to industry insiders but also to the public for the first time. Festivities begin with the SEMA Show, the annual trade-only event, and culminate with the launch of SEMA Fest—a two-day, full-throttle festival powered by Tixr. SEMA Fest skillfully blends the trade association’s legendary automotive roots with world-class musical acts, jam-packing the weekend with non-stop action.
“We are excited to open the gates for the inaugural SEMA Fest and welcome car and music lovers alike to enjoy this one-of-a-kind festival,” said Mike Spagnola, SEMA president and CEO. “Automotive enthusiasts have been asking for years how they can be part of the SEMA Show experience, and we are delighted to include them in this brand-new extension of our popular trade show. This new event will be separate from the trade show, open to everyone, and promises to be like nothing they’ve seen before.”
This year’s star-studded lineup includes Imagine Dragons, Incubus, Wiz Khalifa, AJR, Third Eye Blind, Bush, Walk The Moon, and more to be announced, right alongside the hottest automotive brands and a full slate of automotive lifestyle events. Both fans and trade professionals can expect incredible vehicle builds, celebrity appearances, world-class drifting, motorsports competitions, freestyle motocross, plus an awe-inspiring automotive marketplace.
Supercharging SEMA Fest right out the gate
Launching a major festival is no small feat. To pull it off, SEMA needed a forward-thinking, seasoned commerce partner, with a background across diverse festivals and experiences, plus unique functionality for sales beyond admission tickets. Enter Tixr.
Our unified commerce platform opens the door for event creators like SEMA to target car enthusiasts and music lovers in an inclusive, authentic way.
Leveraging our modern ticketing system and highly-visual purchase experience, SEMA Fest started by skinning its event page with festival branding and vibrant imagery across its wide array of offerings.
From GA and VIP passes to Friday trade show access and individual SEMA memberships, purchasers can even activate payment plans to pay in automated installments for a flat fee and no credit check. Tricked-out vehicle owners can also apply to show off their car onsite at SEMA Fest via a creative use-case of our built-in Waitlist functionality.
“I couldn’t be more excited to bring SEMA Fest into the Tixr fold starting with the inaugural year,” said Patrick Bradley, Tixr’s Chief Revenue Officer. There’s so much SEMA Fest can do with our dynamic user experience, unified commerce toolset, and yield optimization innovations to deliver a superior fan experience and supercharged sales.”
Casting a wider net this year with the addition of SEMA Fest, our robust tracking capabilities and comprehensive audience analysis tools on the backend will give SEMA staff invaluable data-driven insights into attendee demographics and purchase behavior when planning for 2024.
SEMA Week feels like a natural evolution for the annual gathering with so many automotive enthusiasts clamoring to get in on the action. Not only will SEMA Fest give car enthusiasts a taste of what it feels like to be an industry insider, it’s also a huge opportunity for SEMA to grow its brand beyond its core audience. We couldn’t be more excited to ride shotgun for its inaugural year!
Looking for SEMA Fest Tickets? Visit Tixr.com. Curious how you can sell smarter with Tixr? Schedule a demo.
