Summer Concerts from the Water!

August 29, 2017 by Tim Hauserman

By Tim Hauserman

This year, with Lake Tahoe just below it’s high water mark, a great way to see Tahoe City’s Sunday Concerts on the Beach has been via water. We paddled over with our kayaks from Fanny Bridge this past Sunday to watch the Brothers Comatose band play to a large crowd, and discovered that floating around off shore is not only a great way to see a concert, but a dang good excuse to get out on the lake.

While there were a lot more people dining on the grass, or dancing in front of the stage than on the water, we joined a substantial group of folks out on the lake. There was a healthy contingent of human powered users: including kayakers and paddleboarders (some practicing yoga on their shaky boards, including headstands, which invariably led to a dunk in the lake), and a bunch of swimmers and folks hanging on to floating toys. I was impressed by a pack of four ladies who somehow managed to stay afloat on a unicorn. Anchoring just off shore were also a passel of power boaters, who were BBQing, jumping off the back of their boats, and throughly enjoying their comfy private seat for the show.

We sat just off shore floating in the waves for about an hour, before heading into the beach to say hello to a friend. The crowd like usual was eclectic and electric. There were little cherubs playing in the water, teenagers trying not to look like they were checking each other out, twenty somethings meeting up with their bros, and more mature folks dishing up elaborate picnics with large groups of friends. The Concerts are part music festival, and part Tahoe City’s weekly get together. Some folks were dancing right up next to the stage, while others sat much further back, just enjoying a picnic at the lake with live music in the background.

When our friend decided she wanted to join the crowd up front to dance, we shoved off and paddled along Tahoe City’s lakeshore. The music sounded even better from a distance flowing across the smooth surface of the lake. Folks were enjoying the beautiful evening dining alfresco at Moe’s BBQ, lounging on benches at the far reaches of the Tahoe City Marina dock, or lining up to hop aboard the Tahoe Gal for the sunset cruise. While the crowds have diminished a bit over the last few weeks, it is still summer in Lake Tahoe!

You have just one more chance to combine a lake cruise and a concert at the Commons, the last Sunday concert is on September 3rd at 3 pm.

Thanks to Clare Foster for the great photos...and for capturing the guy in blue holding up a paddle just off shore.