SEMA 2026 here we go!
This was my first time at the SEMA Show and it was absolutely amazing! It was like a Car show on steroids!
And with me being a car and music enthusiast this was the perfect mix!
Day one I was off to a great start meeting up with my friend Horny Mike from Counting Cars.Mike was in the Lift King booth with more of the “Counting Cars” TV Show team including Ryan Evans and Ghetto Bob. I did a quick interview with Mike that you can see here: https://youtube.com/shorts/amxwQKlUwZM?si=xieo_l_npNqTxNmT

I was glad Mike was on time at the Lift King booth because I had a tight schedule that day. I wanted to be sure to get to the Kicker booth because my pal Billy Gibbons was going to be unveiling Wise River 1942 Ford. When I found the Kicker booth, I looked for the nearest chair. And it just happened to be where they were closing off the area for Billy to meet with the Kicker staff before his appearance. This was perfect! They cleared out the area and I told them I was a personal friend of Billy and Gilligan, Billy’s wife. And it as clear when Billy showed up by the way he hugged me, we were acquainted. Billy was happy to take photos with the staff and is never in a hurry to meet and talk with everyone. He is such a kind person and the coolest dude on the planet. He signs every autograph and never turns down a photo for a fan. I asked him once if he ever get tired of people asking him for pictures and autographs and he told me his dad said to be worried when they stop asking. But that is not the case with Billy because despite the excitement in the room there was also a feeling of knowing everyone was in the presence of a superstar legend. I have many great memories with Billy and it is always great to have more!Billy was joined with Tim Montana for a quick music treat for the fans after they unveiled the beautiful black Wise River Ford. Being with Billy, I was able to capture all the action with Billy up close. As it turned out, the event was so exciting and I spent almost the entire afternoon with Billy. Check out my quick interview with Billy here: https://youtube.com/shorts/iOxVw9patkg?si=5YqNEClg5qq_jbQO

After Billy’s event, I needed to get to the Magna Flow Group booth to catch a glimpse and quick photo if possible of racing legend Richard Petty. Richard was just finishing up his appearance and the line had been cut off but the staff was nice enough to let me grab a quick photo of the racing legend.In between covering the celeb appearances for the day, I had time here and there to look at the amazing cars and trucks. There were some really informative seminars and I found the time to attend a few!There was a dirt hot rod race out at the West Hall and there was excitement everywhere!Being new to SEMA, I wasn’t sure how to go about events and which ones to attend but with so much going on everywhere I did my best! I needed a guide for sure! There were seminars, vehicle reveals and so much more. There was a live Ebay auction going on for charity where bidders had 6 minutes to bid on 4 Rad cars starting at $6! I was there for all four days and I still didn’t get to see everything.On Wednesday I got to the Magna Flow Booth early to be sure to catch a photo and meeting with the legendary racer Mario Andretti. I was going to be bold and ask if I could ask him a quick question/interview. I was first in line and he had no problem with me filming a question with him. You can watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1FZDK6kht1/

Growing up in Indianapolis and attending many Indianapolis 500 events, this was definitely a special moment for me!
From low rider star cars to solid gold Monster Trucks, I was filming and photographing everything I could capture!

Friday was open to the public and I was anxious for SEMA Fest!
The show was just getting started with ALIVE opening up the event. They came out Thrashing! Their rhythm guitarist looked about 12 years old! I later caught up with the members and he told me he was 15. It was my first time seeing them and they sure had a lot of energy!

I also ran into Pearl Aday holding her adorable dog with her rock star husband in tow, Scott Ian from Anthrax. I have known Scott for awhile. I interviewed Scott in the past for my magazine and worked with him on VH1’s episode of “Supergroup”. So it was great to run into them!Next up was 311. I have never seen them live but I recognized some of their songs which kept playing in my head the next hour until Jimmy Eat World took the stage.

Between bands the crowd was dispersed to watch the high-intensity action of OPTIMA UNLEASHED. This was outstanding! The cars burned rubber with smoke flying as they twirled around in fast paced action to the cheering crowd. It was very exciting to witness and was so exciting, I didn’t even mind the smoke from the burning rubber flying in my face!
And then the Globe of Death show started up. I will never understand how those three motorcycles can twirl and speed around in that small circle without crashing into each other! How can they not get dizzy?!? I have no idea but it is always thrilling to watch!Jimmy Eat World was amazing! I haven’t seen them since 2007 at the Thomas and Mack. The Crowd went crazy with their songs Jim Adkins leading the crowd into a fenzy with “The Middle”. “Sweetness” and “Pain” are killer songs and the crowd definitely responded!Then Optima Unleashed cranked up again for the crowd for more spectacular car drifts and burning rubber. The Globe of Death followed and then the crowd ran back to the main stage for what everyone was waiting for.And finally OFFSPRING took to the stage with Dexter Holland leading the way. I have never seen Offspring in concert and I was blown away! Dexter came charging out with “Come Out and Play” and the huge hits followed “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid” , “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, “Pretty Fly” and so many more.
I am a huge Offspring fan now and I definitely want to see them again!
The Sema Show and Sema Fest were so much fun I can only hope they will bring me back next year!
-Sally Steele
Photos: Sally Steele
Special thanks to Angela Moreno for the SEMA Fest Credentials and to Joann Shin from MSC Public
Relations and Events for the SEMA Credentials!
See you next year!