Who doesn't love listening to a little music on their commute? Well, if you're traveling via Coaster this month, maybe think about leaving the headphones at home.
The North County Transit District (which operates the Coaster, Sprinter, Breeze, Flex and Lift public transit services) is bringing commuter rail riders live, acoustic performances from local musicians on alternating Wednesday/Thursday afternoons in October.
Free for everyone riding the Coaster 656 (which leaves Oceanside at 3:32 p.m.) and Coaster 661 (which leaves Santa Fe Depot at 5:38 p.m.), the scheduled performances take place on the downstairs level of the northernmost train car over the next four weeks.
On deck? Casey & Romy (who play an eclectic mix of pop, rock, country, standards and more from the '50s to present day) on Thursday, Oct. 10; pop-soul-jazz singer Anaïs Lund on Wednesday, Oct. 16; Dakota Ringer (who fronts the rock & roll/soul/funk group the Naked I) on Thursday, Oct. 24; and Justin Werner (an eclectic singer/songwriter specializing in blues, pop, folk, R&B, soul and world-music) on Wednesday, Oct. 30. While the San Diego artists will be playing acoustic sets, some may bring a battery-powered mic/speaker system to boost their volume a little bit.
"We had a wonderful positive response when we did this [concert series] last January/February, so I’m very excited that we’re offering this again," NCTD Marketing & Communications Officer Kimy Wall told SoundDiego. "Justin Werner and Dakota Ringer are returning from the first series. Casey & Romy and Anais Lund are new to the lineup.
"We were happy to bring back any of the amazing artists from the first series that were available for the October dates," Wall said. "Since we had some openings for new groups, we took recommendations for other local entertainers and chose these ones based on what we think our riders will enjoy the most."
For more information on the NCTD, visit gonctd.com.
