[Update 7/30/25]: Nectar’s, the famed Burlington nightclub and ’80s Phish training ground that began a planned “pause” earlier this summer due to “immense challenges affecting … downtown Burlington,” no longer plans to reopen, per a report published on Wednesday by local news outlet Seven Days.
According to the report, while the club’s general manager Tyler Nettleton originally intended to reopen Nectar’s following its temporary shuttering this summer, “attempts to broker a new deal with the building’s landlord, Joe Handy, were unsuccessful, and the club’s doors were chained and padlocked for a few days last week. Handy did not respond to requests for comment.” While the chains have since been removed from the building’s doors, “Nettleton and other former employees have begun the process of clearing out sound and lighting equipment and decades worth of memorabilia.”
Although plans to reopen Nectar’s in its original location have seemingly been nixed, “sources within the club said there are ongoing conversations about the future of the Nectar’s brand and its legacy, ranging from finding a new venue to staging shows at other clubs under the Nectar’s Presents name.”
Venue management confirmed the permanent closure of Nectar’s in a Wednesday evening post on social media: “After 50 unforgettable years at 188 Main Street, and with a heartfelt goodbye….Nectar’s will no longer occupy the space that helped shape the soul of Burlington’s music scene. While our time at this beloved address is coming to a close, the spirit of Nectar’s will live on. To our family, fans, and friends – thank you. Your energy over the last five decades has meant more than we can ever say. The Nectar’s light will forever burn bright in Burlington. As always… Stay loud. Stay passionate. Never stop dancing.”
Read on for more background on the history of Nectar’s, the urban development project that has displaced Burlington’s nightlife community, and the timeline of the venue’s closing. Read the full report from Seven Days here. View the post from Nectar’s below.
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[Originally published 5/8/25 as Nectar’s, The Burlington Club Where Phish Learned to Jam, to ‘Press Pause’ Amid ‘Immense Challenges]: Nectar’s, the beloved Burlington, VT club that helped launch notable acts like Phish and Grace Potter and served as a hub for thousands of local, regional, and national acts for decades, will “press pause” this summer amid the “immense challenges affecting both downtown Burlington and the local live music and entertainment scene.”
As the venue’s social media accounts explained in a post on Thursday, an extensive ongoing municipal construction project on Main Street, where Nectar’s is located, has “taken a heavier toll” on the business than anticipated. “Like many downtown businesses,” the post continued, “we’ve felt the impact of reduced foot traffic and public safety concerns. The energy has shifted. And for a small, independent venue like ours, that shift cuts deep.”
The venue will continue to host its scheduled concerts and events through June 7th, when Blaque Dynamite and his trio, plus unannounced guests, will help the local community say goodbye to Nectar’s for now. The announcement did not specify a timeline for an eventual reopening.
Still, the update from the venue had a note of optimism: “Let us be clear: this is not the end. We are fighting for the future of Nectar’s and are actively exploring every path forward. 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. We’ve hosted thousands of bands, helped kickstart legendary careers, and shared millions of unforgettable moments. We’ve witnessed magic on stage, built friendships in the crowd, and poured our hearts into every show, every meal and every note. We believe in what Nectar’s stands for. And we believe Burlington still needs places like this – spaces that nurture creativity, foster community, and keep the music alive. That’s why we’re using this time to regroup, rebuild, and return stronger. Adapting isn’t giving up – it’s how legends endure.”
While the constant flow of new music it hosted made it well-known locally, the connection between Nectar’s and Burlington, VT-born quartet Phish made the roughly 200-capacity venue a household name for jam band fans around the world. Phish first played Nectar’s in late 1984 and went on to play the venue over 40 known times through 1989. Nectar’s became a gathering place for local fans to welcome the band home after returning from tours in their formative years.
In a 2021 interview on SiriusXM’s Phish Radio, Phish’s Trey Anastasio recalled the unique connection the band fostered with fans at Nectar’s as a defining trait of Phish’s unconventional success. “People would yell stuff out from the audience, and we knew who they were, it was weird.” Trey remembered. “And it’s always felt like that. Felt like that the last time we played at Dick’s, and it felt like that the first time we ever played at Nectar’s. I feel utterly outside of the normal mainstream of music. I still feel like a complete outsider in the world of popular music. We just have nothing to do with it whatsoever, but I feel more like we’re having this big family reunion every night with all these weird characters and stuff. It was always like that. That’s my memory, from the first day.”
Phish would frequently log three sets per night at Nectar’s, the last of which gave them a unique opportunity to hone the often outrageous stage antics for which they’re now known. It also played host to Phish’s first known live Gamehendge set in March of 1988—a concept the band would go on to stage at Madison Square Garden as a Broadway-style spectacle on New Year’s Eve 2023.
Nectar’s and its former proprietor and namesake, Nectar Rorris, were immortalized in the Phish canon with the release of the band’s third album, A Picture of Nectar. The album cover features a silhouette of Rorris superimposed onto an orange. As the band noted in the 1992 album’s liner notes,
[In 1984], we played our first bar gig at Nectar’s in Burlington. Nectar Rorris, the proprietor, was happy to give us a gig despite our lack of experience, organization, or a song list long enough to last two sets. The night went well enough and soon we were playing a series of monthly three night stands – three sets a night on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Like countless other bands in Burlington’s diverse music scene, those nights at Nectar’s taught us how to play. We dedicate this album to Nectar Rorris for 16 years of bringing Burlington live music every night of the week with no cover, and the best fries this side of…France.
Rorris operated the venue from 1975 through 2002, when he passed it off to new management. In 2019, in conjunction with his 80th birthday, Burlington declared an official Nectar Rorris Day to honor his contributions to the local creative community. Both Nectar’s and the building that the business occupies, 180-192 Main Street, were listed for sale in 2019. The club was eventually sold to new owners in 2022.
Even today, four decades into their decorated careers, members of Phish remain a part of the extended Nectar’s community: In recent years, Burlington local Mike Gordon has stopped by the club on multiple occasions to sit in with rising acts like Karina Rykman and Maggie Rose.
Ahead of his 2024 Nectar’s sit-in with Rose on The Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post”, Gordon seemed to flash back to his early days playing Nectar’s with Phish. “The ironic thing is that I played this song on this stage over 90 years ago,” Gordon joked, the exaggerated ending of the memory only partially obscuring the genuine sentiment beneath it. [Note: The first recorded Phish rendition of “Whipping Post” at Nectar’s came in August 1987, a measly 37 years prior.]
Read the full message from Nectar’s about the club’s indefinite closure below.
A Message from Nectar’s
With heavy hearts – but continued optimism – we announce that Nectar’s will be pressing pause this summer, as we face the immense challenges affecting both downtown Burlington and the local live music & entertainment scene.
This was not an easy decision. It comes from a place of deep love – for this city, for our music community, and for the countless memories created within these walls. We’re stepping back to reimagine what Nectar’s can be as Burlington charts its path forward.
The truth is, we’ve been hit hard. The Main Street Construction Project has taken a heavier toll than we anticipated. Like many downtown businesses, we’ve felt the impact of reduced foot traffic and public safety concerns. The energy has shifted. And for a small, independent venue like ours, that shift cuts deep.
But let us be clear: this is not the end. We are fighting for the future of Nectar’s and are actively exploring every path forward.
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. We’ve hosted thousands of bands, helped kickstart legendary careers, and shared millions of unforgettable moments. We’ve witnessed magic on stage, built friendships in the crowd, and poured our hearts into every show, every meal and every note.
We believe in what Nectar’s stands for. And we believe Burlington still needs places like this – spaces that nurture creativity, foster community, and keep the music alive. That’s why we’re using this time to regroup, rebuild, and return stronger. Adapting isn’t giving up – it’s how legends endure.
Our final scheduled show before the break will be June 7, featuring the electrifying Blaque Dynamite and his trio, with special guests. We hope you’ll join us for a night to remember.
In the coming weeks, we’d love nothing more than to see our community show up, fill the room, and make new memories together.
Thank you for your unwavering support – for live music, for independent venues, and for this dream we’ve all built together.
We’ll keep you posted on what’s next. Until then: Stay loud. Stay passionate. Never stop dancing.
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