“Four Rooms: A Time Traveler’s Jukebox” – Where Music, Memory, and Community Collide

PANAMA CITY, FL — The AV Arts Society, in partnership with the Panama City Songwriters Festival, invites the community to step into an unforgettable, immersive journey through sound and story at Four Rooms: A Time Traveler’s Jukebox, the official kickoff to this year’s Songwriters Festival.

Check-in begins at the Center for the Arts, where guests will receive a surprise physical ticket that determines their rotation through the four themed spaces. Each ticket color corresponds to a specific route, so groups are encouraged to purchase tickets of the same color if they wish to experience the adventure together. Tickets can be purchased online through: https://www.pcsongwriters.com/four-rooms-experience  or in person at the Panama City Center for the Arts, located at 19 E 4th Street, during check-in on Thursday, November 6th at 6:30 pm.

Once inside, participants will embark on a musical scavenger hunt through downtown Panama City, with 10 minutes to travel between venues and 20 minutes to fully immerse themselves in each room. Every space offers a themed bite and beverage paired with its own live performance, designed to draw audiences into the heart of the music.

“Four Rooms: A Time Traveler’s Jukebox was born out of the songwriter community here,” explains event founder and creative director Lex Benedict of AV Arts Society. “So many of our local artists are used to playing in the corner of a bar; this was a way to put everyone inside their story. We wanted people to walk through the songs, to feel the heartbeat that makes up the songwriting. Every room is a love letter to the folks who write the words we all end up singing.”

Benedict describes Four Rooms as a project rooted in human connection:

“I think people are craving connection in this day and age: real, shared, goosebump moments. That’s the heartbeat of Four Rooms. We’re living in an age where most music happens through a screen, through headphones, or in isolation. We wanted to create something you could walk into, touch, taste, and feel vibrating in your chest.”

As a builder of immersive experiences, Benedict sees space as part of the story:

“Each room becomes a song you can inhabit, from the lights to the air to the drink in your hand. You’re not just watching musicians perform; you’re inside their process, inside the feeling that made the music possible. It’s about bringing people back to that electric moment where sound and emotion collide; the moment that reminds you you’re alive, and you’re not alone.”

What makes Four Rooms extraordinary isn’t just its concept; it’s the community behind it. Every aspect of the event was built by local artists, musicians, bartenders, lighting techs, costume designers, students, and dreamers who volunteered their time and talents.

“Panama City has this incredible heartbeat of talent that doesn’t always get seen on a ‘big stage,’ so we built one together,” Benedict says. “Every room was touched by local hands: painted, wired, lit, sung into life. It’s proof that when a community of artists decides to collaborate instead of compete, something magical happens.”

Returning home to Panama City after two decades in Los Angeles, Benedict adds, “It’s giving me early Hollywood vibes. Four Rooms isn’t just about music; it’s about how creative people can make an entire town feel like art.”

Proceeds from the event support the Bay Youth Music Association, ensuring that each ticket purchased helps sustain arts education and performance opportunities for young musicians in Bay County.

“Every ticket bought means more than a night out, it’s an act of belief,” says Benedict. “The people of Bay County have always had music in their bones and seeing them rally around something creative and homegrown reminds us why we do this.”

Benedict and the AV Arts Society also extend special thanks to Will Thompson and his team for their collaboration and support in bringing this dream to life.

Won’t you come play with us? Benedict teases: “Step inside the story. Feel the music. Be part of the heartbeat of Panama City’s creative revival.”

Watch the Facebook ad: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1471849330545755

For more information about AV Arts Society, contact Creative Director Lex Benedict at pcavartsociety@gmail.com