Nectar’s to Close for the Summer in June

Just shy of its 50th anniversary, legendary downtown Burlington bar and music venue Nectar’s has announced it will close for the summer in June. In a statement released on Thursday, general manager Tyler Nettleton and booking agent Ryan Clausen stressed that the closure is expected to be temporary and that they were “pressing pause … as we navigate the immense challenges facing downtown Burlington and the music scene in general. “

“The truth is, we’ve been hit hard,” Nettleton and Clausen added. “The Main Street Construction Project has taken a heavier toll than we anticipated. And the cultural heartbeat that once defined downtown Burlington has grown faint. Fewer people are walking these streets. The energy has shifted. And for a small, independent venue like ours, that change cuts deep.”

Burlington’s Nectar Rorris opened Nectar’s  in 1975. The club became a fixture in the local music scene and famously helped launch the jam band Phish in the mid-1980s. The band named its third studio album A Picture of Nectar in tribute to Rorris.

From the early days of hosting the Unknown Blues Band, Pine Island and the N-Zones to the ’90s era of Chin Ho!, Wide Wail and the Pants to the the Cush and Grace Potter in the early 2000s, Nectar’s has long been a focal point of the Burlington music scene.

The club changed ownership in 2003 when Rorris sold the business to Damon Brink and Chris Walsh. Walsh bought out Brink in 2008. In 2022, Ed Maier and a silent partner took the reins. As of January, Maier is no longer involved with the club.

In recent years, the club has focused more on nationally touring jam bands, with less of an emphasis on booking local talent. The upstairs club, long known as Club Metronome, was renovated and renamed the Lounge at Nectar’s last year.

Both venues will be closing following the conclusion of this year’s Burlington Discover Jazz Festival.

While not providing a specific date, Nettleton and Clausen emphasized in the statement that they expect to return: “This is not the end.”

“For over 50 years, Nectar’s has been a launchpad for artists, a haven for music lovers, and a cornerstone of Burlington’s creative soul,” they said. “We’ve hosted thousands of bands, kickstarted careers and created millions of unforgettable moments. We’ve witnessed magic on stage, built friendships in the crowd, and poured our hearts into every show, every meal, every note. We believe in what Nectar’s stands for. And we believe Burlington still needs places like this—spaces that nurture art, foster community, and keep the music alive.

Nectar’s last show before its closure is Texas jazz fusion artist Blaque Dynamite on Saturday, June 7.

Correction, May 8, 4:45 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect that Chris Walsh bought out Damon Brink’s ownership stake in Nectar’s in 2008, and that Ed Maier has not been involved with the club since January.