For the past three years, the SouthSide Arts District has partnered with the Bethlehem mayor’s office to host Live on the Greenway – a summer concert series featuring local artists who perform on the South Side.
Held at the Harmony Pavilion between Webster and Taylor Streets, the series spans four weekends from May 18 through June 8, with artists performing every Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m.
The event includes free general admission, food trucks and local craft beverage makers, while featuring different bands each week to appeal to all members of the community.
Erin Zebertavage, the downtown manager of the SouthSide Arts District, has overseen Live on the Greenway since the event first started.
She said the events’ organizers select local bands from a variety of backgrounds to connect with different audiences and feature new sounds each week.
Zebertavage said this year the featured groups played music from a wide range of genres, including Latin, R&B, jazz and rock and roll.
Life After Dead, a locally-based Grateful Dead tribute band, took the Live on the Greenway stage as the featured artist on June 1.
After first performing at Live on the Greenway in 2022, Life After Dead has returned to perform at the event every year since.
The band features four musicians: Rich Jeffreys on lead vocals and guitar, Jon Fadem on lead guitar and vocals, Dave Johnsen on bass and vocals and Zach Martin on drums.
Fadem was first introduced to the Grateful Dead by his brother and sister. After seeing the band in concert when he was 12, he was inspired by Jerry Garcia, the band’s lead guitarist at the time, to pick up the guitar himself.
“I think that the music of The Grateful Dead is one of America’s great art forms, and it is an honor and a privilege to be able to perform it for other people, keeping their musical legacy going,” he said.
Fadem said his favorite part of being in the band is the improvisational sections of their live performances, similar to how the Grateful Dead would improvise in many of their shows.
He said the “magic” happens when musicians are improvising together and create a jam where everyone is listening to each other while playing.
Jeffreys said he enjoys Life After Dead’s improvisation because it creates a fun and free atmosphere as a group.
He also said the Grateful Dead’s music has a positive impact on those who listen to it.
“(Their music) holds its weight and potency in the importance that it has for introducing a way to live an uncluttered, peaceful life,” Jeffreys said.
Jeffreys also said the younger generations who attend Life After Dead’s gigs and Live on the Greenway give him hope the Grateful Dead’s music will be celebrated for years to come.
In the future, Fadem said he hopes Life After Dead will stay together for a long time. He also said he wants the group to develop a larger repertoire of songs from the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band while including their own original songs in their shows.
Life After Dead also performed on June 2 at the Bethlehem Rose Garden for Live in the Garden and will be performing at Musikfest on Aug. 1.
During their Live on the Greenway performance, Zebertavage said Life After Dead drew its largest audience yet with 250 people in attendance.
She also said Live on the Greenway is becoming an important part of the South Side Bethlehem community.
“These concerts bring joy to so many in our community,” Zebertavage said. “We greatly appreciate the city’s support in bringing these pleasant experiences to life across the city.”
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