Live music fans of NYC are still reeling from the news about the pending closure of the Roseland Ballroom and then it appeared as though the Living Room on the Lower East Side was shutting its long established space when word started hitting the web about the sudden closure of Sullivan Hall, a great concert space down on Sullivan Street in the West Village. While this was not the biggest proponent of the kind of Metal shows that I regularly attend, I had a lot of great experiences here and really enjoyed the venue and my adventures there.

I had heard rumblings that a lease issue was the culprit but that this would not be closing up shop until the new year. Then I received a broadcast from a band I had some appreciation about their upcoming performance being cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances” and this led me to believe that it was done and gone a bit earlier. From there I headed to the clubs official Facebook because where better to get the truth about what is going on in life but in that social medium right ;p? Their wall was filled with notes of “say it isn’t so” and “goodbye to my favorite venue in NYC” and well, I guess the rumors were true. Sullivan Hall was no more. Now since I generally want to get the word from the horses mouth I put a request for details out there to the powers that be and then saw this information on the Jamebase.com website so I am sharing the “official statement” that they happened to have on hand with all of you.

“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.”

I think this sucks and really impacts the music scene of NYC because this venue was the perfect size for so many bands and let them showcase their offerings to a large enough crowd that would help them move further up the ladder. The greed of some landlords who just keep putting trendy crap stores or coffee houses and more high rises are just killing the overall coolness that makes NYC as awesome as it is. Goodbye Sullivan Hall and thank you for your presence. I remember you from the days of old when you were called the Lion’s Den and as I’ve already lined out above, I never ever had a bad time here. I was able to happily support friends who played and even made some cool new discoveries within your confines. Thank you for that. Goodbye.

Official Website: http://cegpresents.com/