PACA [LiVE!] Comes Back To Life

Dave Schroeder

The stage at PACA will soon be welcoming their 2024 season of PACA Live, which allows fans of original, local music see their favorite performers for free - either in person or online.

BEGINNING SUNDAY, JAN. 7

We can all pretty much agree that no one would ever want to relive the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. But however weird, scary, sad, and dark those days were – there were also plenty of positives that grew from it. The free concert series PACA [LiVE!], created by "Digg It" Dave Schroeder is definitely one of those positives. 

Schroeder explains, "The PACA [LiVE!] Concert Series started in September of 2020 at PACA Theatre during the COVID-19 shutdown. Without the ability to put on shows to an in-person audience, I set up a stage equipped with multiple cameras and the ability to livestream a musician's performance over the internet and into the homes of their fans across the globe. I also put a computer monitor on stage that displayed comments from people watching the show, giving the musicians a way to interact with their audience."

This concert series, which specifically highlights local original music of any genre, has been so well received and popular that it has sustained long past those early days of total shutdown and is continuing into its fourth season this weekend, beginning Sunday, Jan. 7. Schroeder has booked a full slate of performances for the 2024 lineup, "Upcoming concerts include Bummer Country, Sarah Haggerty, Xeroxium, Rune Ordvind, and Saturn to Brazil (featuring Stephen Trohoske and Mike Russo)."

First up is Bummer Country, led by local singer-songwriter Jennifer Meyer. She comments, "Bummer Country is very excited to kick off the 2024 season of PACA [LiVE!]. We're especially happy to be celebrating the birthday of our drummer (and the man responsible for this amazing program) 'Digg It' Dave Schroeder." 

The free concert can be attended live in person at PACA, or viewed via livestream on the alliance's Facebook page. Schroeder mentions, "Afterwards, the performers receive a polished-up recording and photos of their show. This is helpful for musicians and bands that need to promote themselves to other venues and may not have a decent recording of their music to present. Some bands have even released their PACA [LiVE!] performance as an album."

"Our city is so lucky to have a free music series that works to connect artists with new opportunities, their community, and each other." Meyer continues. "PACA [LiVE!] also serves as an incredibly valuable archive of the diverse and creative music community here in Erie and we're proud to be adding our music to that catalog."

Schroeder also mentions that special thanks are in order to "Mark Tanenbaum for providing the venue, Lone Sav for his production assistance, and all the musicians that have performed at PACA."

Performances happening specific Sundays throughout the winter // 6 p.m. // PACA, 1505 State St. // For more information or to watch the livestream: facebook.com/paca1505 or paca1505.org/live

View all of the past PACA [LiVE!] performances by visiting the PACA YouTube Channel.