Here’s where Berklee College of Music students will perform on the Blue Line this summer

Local News

Students will perform at the Aquarium and Wonderland stations through the end of August.

In an effort to “brighten the commute” for riders, the T is hosting musicians at select Blue Line stops on Tuesdays and Thursdays this summer.

Berklee College of Music students will perform at the Aquarium and Wonderland stations, the MBTA said in a release about the initiative. The project is a partnership between the T, MassDOT, and Berklee.

Until the end of August students will perform at Aquarium station every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and at Wonderland every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Blue Line was free for all of July and will continue to be free until the end of August, due to the Sumner Tunnel repair project. 

Cynthia Koskela, the clinical director of the Center for Music Therapy at Berklee College of Music, said the stress of traveling to work after months or years of remote work, combined with T closures and delays is exactly why commuters need music.

“[Music] is a perfect avenue to have a community experience that actually reduces levels of cortisol and adrenaline and activates our brain’s reward system,” Koskela said.

“The difference between having live music and having the ear pods that we might normally have when we experience our commute is that we are automatically engaged in community with other people, which is so needed post-pandemic.” 

While Blue Line riders will be treated to live music, commuters across the network are growing increasingly frustrated with a beleaguered transit system.

In April, a rider poll found about three out of four commuters felt the T’s reliability was getting worse.