Berkeley's Freight & Salvage braves move to new home
By Jim Harrington
Oakland Tribune



The local folk music scene is about to get a major upgrade.

Call it Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse 3.0 — as the legendary club, which has served as the heart of the folk music scene in the Bay Area for the past 41 years, gets set to move into a new state-of-the-art performance space Aug. 27 in the downtown Berkeley Arts District. It will be the Freight's third home, following a stint on San Pablo Avenue and its current spot at 1111 Addison St.

"I'm looking forward to being in the cultural epicenter of Berkeley," says Steve Baker, the Freight's longtime executive director. "We are close to the university and close to the high school. I can keep my eyes on my two kids, who will both be at Berkeley High next year."

The latter isn't the rationale Baker sold during the lengthy fundraising drives, which helped secure much of the $11.5 million needed to open the new venue. The main reason behind the move, Baker explains, is that it allows the Freight to better pursue its mission — to promote "the understanding and appreciation of traditional music."

Everything about the new Freight has been designed to encourage greater community involvement. It's at 2020 Addison St., across the street from the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and in the heart of the city's Downtown Arts District, which means more foot traffic, parking and public transportation options. That in itself is a change from the venue's current location in a residential area of Berkeley.

Also, the new venue's main concert hall will seat 440 people — double the capacity of the current club and about five times that of the Freight's original San Pablo site."