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    Higher Ground

    3.2 (66 reviews)
    Closed 6:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)

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    Kay Wright New Years Eve!
    Marc H.

    First time here for me. This venue is a nice 300 person, warehouse setting. There is a rather large rear parking lot, the security is diligent and friendly. The venue has been around for a while according to the staff. So they know how to host a ticking good time! There is seating out back on a raised platform behind the lights and sound boards. The dance floor is huge! The drinks are full and pricey! I drink water so I get out of for a tip...the service is fast and friendly...so it makes up for sticker shock! I was surprised to see the lineup of musicians! There are many different genres included in the lineup. They have many of the same people that come to Portland, Me, rolling through. I would definitely make the trip out again for concert. Staff is nice, efficient and willing to assist whenever is needed! I saw them assisting two handicap patrons entering and exiting the venue. There is a coat check! It gets warm in there you will want to take advantage of it. The bathrooms are clean and large enough. Also the box office is easy to access whenever they are open, or just buy tix online! Definitely check this Place out!

    Had an awesome time last night. Trudged through the stowstorm on foot and well worth it! We were there for The Beatles Tribute band, but they had postponed. (My bad for not checking lol) Anyway they were great at the door and let us stay. We got to see The Suitcase Junkett and GA-20. Bartender was super friendly and extra points for being a horse girl like me. Full bar with a decent beer list. Great experience, can't wait to come back.

    Photo of the black X after it was "washed off"

    this is the worst venue. i am in fact 21, and I got a bright wristband to clearly show I am 21. I was with my friends who were under 21, and they never tried to use a fake or even try to get a drink. in fact, when we got in the venue, I was with them when they said they weren't 21 and got two HUGE large sharpie Xs on their hands. First of all, my friend, who is under 21, is a food runner at a restaurant, where it is not allowed to have anything on our hands while we are serving customers. When we got to the venue we went to the bathroom and she WASHED HER HANDS like a normal person and the sharpie washed off. About 20 minutes later a RUDE employee came over (she was blonde) and she grabbed my friends (who didn't have any drinks in their hands and weren't trying to drink) and rudely grabbed them out of the venue where she promptly yelled at them and disrespected them. My friend tried to explain that she went to the bathroom and washed her hands and the sharpie was faded. Shown in the photo, she still has the X on her hands, it just looks like she washed her hands. The rude employee proceeded to tell my friends that she still had sharpie on her hands from a month ago, which clearly means she was just unhygienic and not washing her hands. My friends got kicked out and were showed no respect after they were being nothing but polite and did nothing wrong. I work in the service industry, and I understand policies, but this was just completely disappointing and disrespectful. If it had been handled with more class from employees than maybe I would have understood a bit more, but the way this was handled was super disrespectful and I will be telling everyone not to go to this venue. If you do decide to go to this venue and you are not 21 than you should make sure never to go to the bathroom because there's a good chance your sharpie will wash off and you will be treated with the same disrespect that my friends were. After being a paying customer and doing nothing against policy, I would hope that the employees that were in the wrong got reprimanded, but they all looked like they were teenagers and clearly haven't learned how to show respect.

    a person's hand with a tattoo on it

    I was at a concert this weekend and what happened was totally unacceptable. I am under 21 and happily told them so and got black Xs on my hand. When they did so they only said do not have any drinks. I happily agreed as I was not coming to drink at all. When I went in, my friends and I used the bathroom and washed our hands normally. I scrubbed a little extra due to the nature of my job and not wanting bold Xs on my hands (we are told to keep a clean appearance with nothing visible on our hands or arms), but not scrubbing them off completely. All of the sudden in the middle of the concert my friends and I were dancing and a women comes up to us and rudely yells at us to get in the lobby. I agreed but was confused as to what was happening. This woman tells us since the black Xs were off of our hands that we need to leave the premise immediately. I'm accommodating to the fact it is company policy so I agree to leave but I try to explain to the employee what happened. She refused to listen to me and instead started to become very aggressive and would not listen. They yelled at us that they told us when we came in that we were not to wash the black Xs off our hands or we would have to leave. We were NEVER told explicitly that as I would have never done that if I had known. The employee was so rude even though we agreed to leave and were understanding of the position she was put in. In addition, 21 and over get wristbands so it never crossed my mind that it would look like we were trying to get drinks. We never even approached the bar. I am truly disappointed in this establishment and the way they handled this situation. I was extremely disrespected and feel robbed of my money for no good reason. I have included a picture of my hand because you can clearly see the Xs still on my hand, as I did not try to completely remove it. I just wish they had shown more understanding to a paying customer and listened to my story rather than screaming at me to get out. They were extremely rude and made me feel like sh*t when I tried being kind and talking to them person to person. I would not recommend this place at all due to the rude staff. Unfortunate due to the great performers who come through Burlington.

    The Sword, January 12th, 2013
    Star G.

    It's an ok venue. The prices of beer are crazy, and I have paid less to see better bands in Worcester Mass, Glens Falls NY, and Portland Maine. They used to have metal shows all the time, but now they are pretty rare. My biggest complaint is the people who show off for their girlfriends by doing what they consider moshing, but in reality are just jerks that like to hit people who are nowhere near a pit.

    Danielle S.

    I've always had a blast going to shows at this venue! Their bar is easy to order from, and it's fun that you get to stand and dance during the show. After moving to Vermont from a bigger city (D.C.) I was very surprised to see that bigger names came to such a small city! The music scene is Burlington does not disappoint, thanks to Higher Ground. They have plenty of parking and do mobile tickets, call mail you your tickets, or so will call. I suggest following them on Facebook to stay up to date on who's coming! Examples of artists I've seen here include Lake Street Dive, Wild Child, and Lauv.

    Got mad close to seeing smashmouth!

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    3 years ago

    Great venue, I love the floor plan, sound was great, cheap drinks. I've read a lot of negative reviews about the staff but had no issues

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    6 years ago

    The legendary music venue lives! Where all the legendary jam bands have played. One of the most iconic venues in the US. Can't miss it.

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    Review Highlights - Higher Ground

    The acoustics are quite good and restrooms are large with plenty of spots to unload all those inexpensive beers though as clean as any concert venue.

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    Flynn Center For the Performing Arts

    Flynn Center For the Performing Arts

    3.2
    (19 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    I've been to Burlington a few times but never to the Flynn. I've wanted to visit this theatre ever…read moresince I heard about Phish playing a special concert there on 3/18/97. I was in College and Phish was booming in popularity at this time. The Flynn is a small theatre and Phish was playing arenas by '97. At that show Ben & Jerry introduced the band and they opened up with a cover of 'Cinnamon Girl' by Neil Young. I remember listening to this taped show and dreaming about seeing them in this intimate setting. Other notables included Hood and Slave --- what a show! This 1930's "Wonder Theatre" was a state-of-the-art vaudeville and motion picture venue upon it's original inception. It seats 1,439 guests and they typically show concerts, shows and movies. It's right near the start of the public corridor of Church St. or a quick walk to Lake Champlain. Fast forward to 4/19/25. I'm in town for my son to tour UVM and without any prior knowledge I see that moe. is playing that evening at the Flynn-- what luck? Tix's for 2 were around $100. We arrived about 30 minutes before the show. The theatre has unique style -- not like the Capital but cool in it's own way. The staff were super and the crowd had the greatest vibe. We had an unbelievable time. Thank you Flynn!

    Just got back to my hotel from a show at the Flynn. This was my first time there and it was great!…read moreCool, old theater at the end of Church street with excellent, helpful staff. There's a bar that has a few draught beers, canned stuff (including N/A options), wine and snacks. They allow said bevs and snacks in the theater. Seats were pretty comfortable and we really enjoyed our show. I would come back in the future for sure.

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    Flynn Center For the Performing Arts
    Newsies the musical
    Newsies the musical
    Josh Johnson

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    Josh Johnson
    Festival of Fools

    Festival of Fools

    4.7
    (3 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    Annual event in Burlington which I've gone to for three years. It's worth the admission price…read more(Free!) and all along Church Street. There are probably at least six shows (street performers-buskers) going on each hour, with different types of acts (magicians, break dancing, circus/jugglers, musicians, etc. All worthy of a $10-$20 tip. The performances last 30-40 minutes each. I think the festival lasts three days, but this year I was there for Sunday. Excellent performers from around the world (one guy I was was from Australia). Between the acts you have all of what Church Street has to offer: all different types of boutique shops and dining. Something for everyone in the family. The shows are also kid friendly. If you're visiting the area during a Festival of Fools weekend, you don't want to miss it. And locals will enjoy it as well, since most of the performers are from out of the area. I will continue to attend as long as Burlington continues to have the festival.

    For three days, Church Street and area become animated as street artists, circus performers,…read moremagicians, musicians and comedians take turns in entertaining the public. Now, these are not the usual folks who share their talent in the Marketplace during regular days. These buskers come from all over the world to join in Burlington's Festival of Fools. As far as I know, this is the Festival's second year, held second weekend of August. And it is organized by the Burlington City Arts. Schedule of performances are written on a board outside the Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts, at the end of Church Street. Volunteers, I presume, hand out more info about the festival and encourage everyone to cast in their votes for their favorite performer. The festival culminates with the awarding of the King/Queen of Fools. Our family favorite was Brent McCoy, a local of Vermont. We agreed that he had the most carefully thought-out gig. His ad libs were right on and they didn't sound too desperate. Even when he asked for tips toward the end of his performance, the man had a speech of a confident orator. And yes, he was really, really good with his tricks, too! I think he has a video on youtube.com. Anyway, the other performers were equally entertaining. There's the usual fire-eating trick, women in trapeze, unicycling, music with ordinary things, hula-hooping and the like. Then there's also the unusual scorpion-in-pants while catching a bowling ball with steak knives on fire using the head kind of stunt. Truly lots of clowning around going on here!

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    Festival of Fools

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    Higher Ground - musicvenues - Updated July 2026

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