Musical Movements

Top of Battery Street

Watch the 2016 Burlington Concert Band play George D. Sherman's "Salute to Burlington"

Since the early 20 ^th  century, residents of Burlington have gathered in Battery Park on summer evenings to hear the Burlington Concert Band. The Concert Band, formerly known as the Burlington Military Band and Sherman’s Military Band, began performing in 1878. George D. Sherman directed the band from 1878 – 1921; he was a prolific composer, music instructor, and local bandleader for over fifty years. In 1929, the city dedicated the original concrete bandstand to the memory of Sherman. Each week, musicians scaled an exterior ladder to play from the platform atop the structure, designed by local architect, Frank Lyman Austin.

Joseph F. Lechnyr, bandleader from 1921 to 1959, was a strong advocate for the construction of a new bandstand. Recognizing his dedication to teaching music to generations of students, young and old, the city dedicated the new band shell to his memory in 1978.

174 Pearl

Between 1907 and 1949, Burlington residents hoping to learn violin sought out Alfred Larsen. He first operated the Larsen Violin School out of a studio at the Howard Relief Building at 174 Pearl Street. Larsen also founded the Burlington Symphony Orchestra and served as the director of the music programs at UVM and Middlebury College.

The Howard Relief Building was designed in 1887 by architect John J. McLaughlin for use by the charitable Howard Relief Society. To help fund their mission, the Society rented out rooms on the third floor to tenants like Larsen. The Relief Building was demolished in 1964 to make way for the current parking lot.

20 Church

Click the link below to watch Big Joe Burrell perform for "Guest of the House."

This statue of renowned jazz saxophonist, “Big” Joe Burrell, stands in front of Halverson’s Upstreet Café. Burrell, a fixture of Burlington’s vibrant live music scene since 1976, started his career performing with jazz greats such as Count Basie and B.B. King. While he played in many local bands, the most famous of them was The Unknown Blues Band. The statue, designed by Burlington sculptor, Chris Sharp, was unveiled by Burlington City Arts in June 2010, five years after Burrell’s passing. Since 2006, the first day of Burlington’s annual summer “Discover Jazz Festival” has been known as “Big Joe Burrell Day.”

Howard Opera House 81-91 Church

H. M. S. Pinafore was one of the Howard Opera House's most popular shows. Click the link below to listen to a 1907 recording of a song from this comedic opera.

The Howard Opera House opened in early 1879 to a performance of the Italian Opera, Lucia de Lammermoor. Before its closure in 1904, this venue hosted over 1800 professional and amateur productions, in addition to lectures and concerts. One of the most popular shows, with a dozen performances, was H.M.S Pinafore. An 1889 amateur performance of this comic opera featured Alice L. Nash as the accompanying pianist. Educated by Minnie F. Burritt, a local music instructor, Nash went on to teach piano lessons until her death in 1940.

The lavish Opera House, designed by Vermont-born architect, Stephen D. Hatch, was funded by John Purple Howard, a prominent Burlington philanthropist.

88 Church

For over a century, music-lovers in Burlington frequented Bailey’s Music Rooms to buy anything from the latest music technologies to concert tickets. The business, opened by A. L. Bailey in 1879, occupied six separate downtown storefronts, frequently relocating to accommodate its expanding operations. Their final location, at 88 Church Street, operated from 1943 to 1983.

106 1/2 Church

The Concert Hall, constructed in 1848, was one of Burlington’s earliest purpose-built entertainment venues. The Hall, located behind 104 Church Street, provided a meeting space for clubs, parties, concerts, and recitals. Visitors accessed the building via a passageway and platform between the shops at 104 and 106 Church Street. The hall closed in 1890, as other, larger, venues such as Howard Opera House became cultural centers of the city. Concert Hall was demolished in 1971 after a significant fire. The site is now a parking lot.

Church Street: Corner of College to Corner of Bank

In July 1877, a cornet solo played by Edward T Paige opened the first telephone call in Burlington. The music transmitted across a waxed string line between the W. Carpenter & Co. and Vincent, Taft & Co. drug stores.

191 College

Since 1827, the source for local and national music news in Burlington has been the Burlington Free Press. Readers can find critiques in regularly featured columns or advertisements for what acts are playing at their favorite venues.

John D. Donoghue, a lifelong supporter of the arts and journalism in New England, was a music critic for the Free Press from 1952 until his death in 1986. Since 1987, Vermont Press Association has presented journalists with the John D. Donoghue Award for Arts Criticism to increase the understanding and appreciation of the arts in Vermont.

Another notable contributor to local arts criticism was Susan Green, a Free Press Correspondent. She was known for her long-form reporting and interviews with internationally- known and local musicians playing in Burlington. Green also served as the director of Burlington City Arts from 1985 to 1993.

The Burlington Free Press vacated its 191 College Street address in 2014; the paper moved to College Street in 1833, expanding into adjacent properties over the following 180 years.

115 S. Winooski Ave.

This 1983 recording on "Guest of the House," was one of The Decentz final performances. Listen below.

Still in business today, Pure Pop Records started as a used record store in a basement-level shop at the corner of South Winooski Ave and College St. in 1980.  Pure Pop Records co-owner Jay Strausser along with Elise Brown owned "Pure Pop Productions," which later became "All Points Booking." Pure Pop Productions managed popular Burlington bands such as Pinhead and the Decentz.  

The Decentz, a new wave rock band, formed in 1981. During its two year existence, the band gained popularity outside of the region and spent much of their final year as a group touring around New England.

South Union and Main

The Boyz won the second annual "Battle of the Bands" event at Memorial Auditorium in 1983. Click on the link below to watch the band's 1986 "Guest of the House" performance.

As innovative subgenres of rock music took the American music scene by storm in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the entire genre was banned from Memorial Auditorium, one of the largest event venues in Northern New England.

City officials, citing safety concerns and multiple instances of property damage, instituted the ban on the city-owned venue. A six-month ban in 1975 on jazz and rock after a BB King concert was later followed by a rock-only ban in 1977 after raucous Styx and Supertramp concerts. The 1977 prohibition granted the City Treasurer authority to decide what music constituted “rock” on a case-by-case basis.

After the ban was lifted in 1983, the venue quickly regained its status as one of Northern New England’s most popular venues, welcoming internationally famous artists and propelling the careers of local artists. In 1982, Burlington celebrated the return of rock to Memorial Auditorium with a "Battle of the Bands" event. The second winner of this annual event was "The Boyz," a youth rock band formed in Shelburne, VT. The group was active in New England until the early 1990s.

188 Main

Phish played their first ever bar gig at Nectar's on December 1, 1984. Listen to a recording of this performance below.

Nectar's has been a Burlington staple since 1975. The venue, originally called Nector’s, briefly changed ownership in 1983, before returning in 1984 under its current name. Many up-and-coming local bands liked performing at Nectar’s due to its small size and casual atmosphere. Improvisational Burlington-born rock band, Phish, known for their theatrical performances and dedicated national fan base, got their start in 1983 at Nectar’s. Phish later immortalized the venue in music history with their 1992 album, A Picture of Nectar, which was dedicated to proprietor Nector Rorris. 

116 Main

Click the link below to listen to a pianist perform "Fleur de Lis," arranged by George H. Wilder in 1897.

George H. Wilder was an accomplished pianist, flutist, and composer. He founded The Wilder School of Music in 1907 to give voice, piano and flute lessons to students of all ages. He taught out of his studio in the Walker Lodge at 116 Main Street until his death in 1922. One of his many compositions, “Fleur de Lis,” a two-step piano piece, was published in the Boston Globe in 1897.

The Walker Lodge was originally constructed in 1891 as a factory and storefront for the Macrae, Montgomery & Co. candy company. The building was demolished in 1982 to make way for a parking lot.

101 Main

Click on the video below to watch a recording of Pinhead performing at Hunt's in 1984.

Between 1977 and 1987, R. W. Hunt's Mill & Mining Co., popularly known as Hunt's, was one of Burlington's most popular live music venues. The building was originally constructed in 1904 as an armory for Company ‘M’ of the Vermont National Guard; the second floor served as a social hall. The club originally accommodated around 200 patrons but was expanded in the early 1980s to accommodate 300 patrons. This venue was popular for mid-size national acts and local bands. However, the increased seating capacity pushed smaller acts to other venues, such as Nectar's.

Pinhead was a local punk band frequently playing local venues like Hunt’s. Formed in 1981 in Johnson, VT, Pinhead quickly became one of Vermont's most popular musical acts. The band disbanded in 1985 with some of the members later reforming as "All Fall Down."

After the venue's closure in 1988, Sha Na Na's, a dance-club, moved into the space. Today, the building is occupied by The Vermont Comedy Club and a Hilton Garden Inn.

89 Main

Click the link below to watch The Cuts perform for "Guest of the House" in 1986.

The Front opened in 1988 to fill the live-music void left by Hunt’s closure. During the week, the venue was a bar called The Outback; but during shows, a movable wall expanded the space into ‘the front’ of the venue, allowing crowds of up to 150. The Front was primarily played by well-established and up-and-coming local bands, but it was never quite able to compete with the outsized legacy of Hunt’s. In 1991, the venue closed and SkiRack expanded into space.

Shawn Sweeny managed The Cuts. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1980, the group’s style morphed from garage-band to a dance-rock sound, reflected in their 1985 and 1989 albums. The Cuts were a well-established local and regional act, frequently playing venues like The Front, before dissolving in 1991.