In a rather abrupt and unexpected move, New York City venue Sullivan Hall closed its door permanently yesterday. According to CEG Presents, the venue has been operating on a month to month basis for nearly a year, with hopes of extending its lease. Apparently, the building ownership has other plans for the venue.
Sullivan Hall, originally Lion’s Den, opened its doors in 1991, and has hosted many legendary acts, up-and-coming bands that went on to make it big, and some of the jam scene’s finest, including each member of Phish, the Disco Biscuits, Phil Lesh & the Terrapin Family Band, the String Cheese Incident, Matisyahu, Lotus, and many more.
While we are disappointed to hear the news of Sullivan Hall closing its doors for the last time, CEG Presents has many new agreements in the works with venues like Drom, Fontana’s, and the new outdoor venue Watermark, among others.
As Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another opens….”
Here is an official statement from CEG Presents:
Live music venue Sullivan Hall in Manhattan is officially and permanently closed, as is DJ club Sullivan Room. We’ve been going month to month for nearly a year hoping we can get a new lease or an extension, but the ownership of the building decided to go in a different direction with the space. We knew that our future there was limited, but we did not anticipate the abrupt closure yesterday. We apologize to all of the performers who were unable to reschedule; the employees of the club who were given little to no notice; and all of the fans who were planning on attending our upcoming shows. While we are disappointed, we are thankful for a very long run as a music venue in New York City, and are very proud of what we accomplished.
In anticipation of the venue’s closure, CEG Presents who booked Sullivan Hall, has formed new booking agreements with venues such as Drom in the East Village, Fontana’s on the Lower East Side, new outdoor downtown venue Watermark, etc. CEG also books shows at many area venues including BB King’s, Brooklyn Bowl, Cutting Room, Highline Ballroom, Gramercy Theatre, Irving Plaza, Le Poisson Rouge, etc. In addition, CEG does concert cruises w/ Rocks Off and Circle Line during the summer; books shows in Baltimore, DC, Philadelphia; produces annual events such as the Nolafunk Mardi Gras Ball and Summer Jazz Festival; and does an annual series during the evenings and weekends of Jazz Fest in New Orleans. The Lion’s Den opened in 1991. CEG started booking the venue in 1996, and quickly made it a strong competitor to other comparably-sized NYC venues. In order to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of live music venues in New York City, it was CEG’s vision to upgrade the Lion’s Den to the revamped Sullivan Hall in 2008. We’re proud of the stellar lineup of musicians that CEG booked at Lion’s Den and Sullivan Hall through the years: each member of Phish (Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman, and Page McConnell), Anders Osborne, Bill Kreutzmann, Dashboard Confessional, Dennis Brown, Derek Trucks Band, Dirty Heads, Disco Biscuits, Dr. John, English Beat, Lotus, The Low Anthem, Marco Benevento, Marc Ribot, Matisyahu, Meat Puppets, Medeski Martin & Hunter, moe., Mos Def, ? uestlove, Phil Lesh & the Terrapin Family Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Rubblebucket, Six Cheek (The Lumineers), String Cheese Incident, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Umphrey’s McGee, Warren Haynes, Zac Brown Band and many more.
Throughout the years, CEG developed many young acts in the space that went on to much larger venues and that tradition continued to the very end with up & coming acts such as Dopapod, The Main Squeeze, The Revivalists, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, and many more.
Prior to CEG’s involvement, Alice in Chains and Ben Folds Five did early gigs in their career at Lion’s Den.
We are so grateful to all of the musicians, fans, and members of the music industry for an incredible 17 year run and we look forward to being with all of you at our future shows for the next 17 years and more.
[via Jambase]