Music fans heading for the Bermuda Music Festival were left high and dry ? temporarily at least ? when the tender vessel broke down as it was due to pick up hundreds of passengers from the ferry terminal at Front Street.

An increasingly agitated throng of passengers overflowed at the terminal around 7 p.m. last night as efforts were made to divert other ferries to pick them up in time for the music extravaganza at Dockyard.

"We've been waiting for 45 minutes and we wanted to be there at 7 p.m. because we think Al Green is the first artist appearing and it's so rare to get see these overseas stars," said Suzanne Barry of Warwick Parish.

Many of the festival-goers gave up waiting and jumped into taxis. However, those that stayed at the ferry terminal were all sent on their way by 7.30 p.m. when two catamarans and a smaller ferry arrived almost simultaneously to clear the back-log of passengers.

The , which can carry more than 600 passengers, developed a fault in the late afternoon at Dockyard but was reported to be operating again as normal late last night.