SAN FRANCISCO – East Bay ferry commuters on Friday got some very special surprises during their evening commutes on one San Francisco Bay Ferry line. Soon, other commuters on other lines may get the same treatment.          

Sweet, soothing music

Beyond the beautiful views and cocktails, folks who took the ferry between San Francisco and Richmond on Friday evening got an extra treat; something they haven’t done in more than two decades: live music.

Lolah, a San Jose solo artist and band member, sang songs for fans and Friday commuters to their surprise and delight. “I think it’s very entertaining after a long day at work, and it makes the ferry really enjoyable compared to BART,” said commuter John Schmidt.

Jess Jenkins read about it online. “It’s a little bit out of my way. Yeah, but I was excited to try and check out the live music on the ferry. I think making public transit attractive to use is like, yeah, great for everybody,” said Jenkins. “Fantastic. I mean this is the most beautiful city in the world, sunset, a little music. What more could you want in the world?” said passenger Josh Bamberger.

Commuter and artist Marco Sorenson sketched Lolah. “It’s great. This was a real surprise tonight, fascinating; on the boat anyway, so this adds a little extra,” said Sorenson.

The singer loves her art and audiences. It’s an opportunity for musicians like me because we want to go out there and share your work, your art. So you feed on the energy from the audience and the audience feeds from the energy from you,” said Lolah who books her gigs through Lolahentertainment.com.

Bay ferries had music before

Twenty-five years ago, before the dot-com crash, it was a spontaneous twice-a-month Friday event. “It was just a group of enthusiastic ferry riders from Oakland that put it all together. So, it gathered a following. People would come, get on the boat and just never get off the boat, just continuously two round trips, and we were grateful for it,” said three-year SF Bay Ferry Captain Tim Patrick.

Ultimately, it interfered with the evening commute. “And then we kind of put a stop to it because it became too successful,” said Caprain Patrick.

This time, SF Bay Ferry itself is sponsoring even to bolster ridership at commute time as well as on weekends. “We’re definitely kind of testing the waters, experimenting with what we’re able to do in a venue such as the ferries; beautiful and scenic,” said SF Bay Ferry spokesperson Teo Saragi.

What’s next:

On Friday, January 16, entertainment will be provided by a DJ between the city and Vallejo. 

The Friday after, Lolah returns. “We’re also in the process of brainstorming potential trivia nights or comedy nights,” said spokesperson Saragi.

What was successful 25 years ago, could become successful again on a much bigger ferry system with a lot more lines, because people love live music, they love the ferries; throw in a cocktail and call it a party.