Free Concert Series Returns to Bellingham Bay, With the Same Schooner for a Stage

Beats on the Bay runs four Tuesdays, August 11 through September 1. Presented by the Community Boating Center, a local nonprofit, with the Schooner Zodiac.

Beats on the Bay returns August 11 for four Tuesday evenings of free live music performed from the deck of the Schooner Zodiac, with the audience listening from kayaks, paddleboards, and the Taylor Dock boardwalk.

The series drew roughly 2,000 attendees last year and is presented by the Community Boating Center, the Fairhaven nonprofit that has produced the event since its founding.

The 2026 lineup:

- August 11: Corazones de Cedro

- August 18: Blessing "Bled" Chimanga and Band

- August 25: The Pazific

- September 1: Henry Mansfield

Boats go on the water at 5:00 p.m., music runs from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., and all craft are back at the dock by 8:00 p.m.

Three ways to attend, and two of them are free

Anyone with a kayak, paddleboard, or other paddle craft can launch at no cost from Taylor Dock. Bringing your own boat has always been free and always will be. Those without a boat can reserve a rental from the Community Boating Center starting at $30, including a life jacket, with check-in at 555 Harris Avenue by 5:00 p.m. and a firm 5:45 p.m. last call.

Shoreside listening is free and requires no boat at all. Taylor Dock and the boardwalk carry the sound well. However, Boulevard Park is too far from the anchorage to hear the music.

A limited number of seats are available aboard the Zodiac itself for the closest view of the performance. Zodiac tickets include complimentary snacks and beverages.

If sustained winds exceed 14 miles per hour, the performance relocates to the lee of the Community Boating Center. The call is posted by noon on the day of each show at @communityboatingcenter.

Free to attend, not free to produce

Beats on the Bay has no ticket gate, and keeping it that way falls to the Community Boating Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is small-watercraft education, access, safe recreation, and marine stewardship on Bellingham Bay. Rental revenue and donations fund the organization's youth camps, lessons, and community programs year-round. Shoreside attendees are asked to consider a suggested $15 donation.

"People have been coming to this concert for years without knowing who actually puts it on. We (Community Boating Center) are a nonprofit, and every boat we rent on a concert night supports making this Bay accessible to all. That is the part we want folks to hear along with the music."

Sara Welsh, Development Director, Community Boating Center

Full details, rental reservations, and Zodiac tickets are at boatingcenter.org/beatsonthebay. 

About the Community Boating Center

The Community Boating Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Fairhaven fostering small-watercraft education, access, safe recreation, and marine stewardship on Bellingham Bay. The organization offers youth camps, adult and youth lessons, guided experiences, community paddle sessions, and public boat rentals. Learn more at boatingcenter.org.

About the Schooner Zodiac

The Schooner Zodiac is a historic wooden schooner sailing out of Bellingham and the floating stage for Beats on the Bay.