I heard the drums echoing across the lakefront, the Moran FRAME and its crimson glow looming in the background, as a crowd gathered outside Foam Brewers. That in and of itself was no strange sight; the Burlington brewery on Lake Street has been a popular destination for thirsty locals and tourists alike since it opened in 2016.
No, what took me aback was this particular crowd milling in the parking lot and outdoor patio of the brewery. I’d been to plenty of shows at Foam over the years, but I’d never seen it like this. The scene in front of the brick façade looked like a strange time-lapse photo from the days of 242 Main, the late and lamented all-ages punk venue that once occupied Memorial Auditorium’s basement.
The punks were older now — there was a lot of gray hair stuffed under stiff-brimmed trucker hats, and my guess is all the Vans skate shoes had Dr. Scholl’s inserts in them. But they blended easily with the Queen City’s younger punk demographic, also in attendance. Once inside, I saw plenty of X’s on hands, the telltale mark of underage and/or straight-edge kids at punk shows since time immemorial.
Foam was hosting the 30th anniversary reunion of ’90s Burlington punk rockers Common Ground. It was also the birthday of the band’s drummer, Bobby Hackney Jr., best known for fronting Rough Francis. Along with newer Queen City hardcore acts the Path and Blossom, Common Ground had packed Foam on a Saturday night in August with an intergenerational assortment of heavily tattooed punks.
In addition to being a destination for beer geeks, Foam has steadily become a fixture of the local music scene, which saw the closing of venues such as Nectar’s, ArtsRiot and Despacito this year. While Foam has always been a great place to catch an indie or country show, the brewery has grown its musical menu over the past few years to encompass more of the Vermont scene, as well as intermittently bringing in buzzy touring acts.
Much of the credit for that evolution belongs to Foam’s talent buyer, Greg Rothwell. The 40-year-old Burlington resident and musician took the position last December, but he’s been doing sound and production at the brewery for more than seven years, as well as managing the bar one day a week. On Rothwell’s watch, Foam has renewed its dedication to booking local musicians playing original music, with the vast majority of shows free to the public.
“Part of that drive to book original bands is just rooted in my psyche,” Rothwell told me in a Zoom call from Foam, the late-summer sun shining through the windows behind him. He played in cover acts and wedding bands for more than a decade before launching his band, the Discussions, and while he respects and appreciates a good cover act, his passion is for seeing new, fresh music.
“Over the years, Foam has been really into booking lots of indie and folk-rock stuff, which I love,” Rothwell said. “But to be really excited, I need other genres as well. Whether that’s punk or EDM or whatever, I just want Foam to be a haven for original musical thought. And by doing that, we bring in other demographics and different kinds of fans, which can really change the vibe in a good way.”
Regular readers of this column know all about the problems that music venues face these days: soaring insurance costs, rising rents and the changing demographics of concertgoers, who now consume less alcohol — historically a cornerstone of a rock club’s income.
While Foam contends with some of those factors — in particular, the relationship between young fans and drinking — it also has advantages in the fight for survival as a venue. One is its waterfront location. In addition to boasting scenic views of Lake Champlain, the brewery is far from the brutal downtown construction and associated problems that contributed to dooming Nectar’s and have complicated public access to venues such as Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge and Vermont Comedy Club. Another of Foam’s assets is an in-house sound production team that helps lower costs, Rothwell pointed out.
“The beer scene has really changed over the years,” he said, “so we really need to balance our budget in order to maintain what I think is crucial: maintaining the free show format.”
There’s a strong historical precedent for that model in Burlington. While writing up eulogies for Nectar’s this summer, I noted a recurring theme: The club’s original owner, Nectar Rorris, believed near-fanatically in offering free music. He even stopped booking Phish when they got too big for free gigs, such was his commitment to offering music in a town heavily populated by broke-ass college kids.
“Those broke college kids usually end up forming killer bands,” Rothwell said. “If you can go out and experience the music scene, it’s so much more likely you’ll be inspired to form your own band. So having a place to catch free, original music is vital to a scene, in my opinion.”
Rothwell and the folks at Foam have also worked tirelessly to build up the space itself. Foam’s early shows were sonically grim in my experience, with bands often shoved into a corner of the cavernous tasting room and music echoing off the brick walls in spectacularly bad ways. The brewery has brought its acoustics up to snuff over the years, thanks to the input of another Burlington musician and producer, production manager Ian Steinberg. Foam’s new stage has plenty of room for bigger acts, and the beginning of this year saw the installation of a new sound system.
The upgrades have allowed Foam to branch out and bring in bigger touring bands, such as Philadelphia punk duo Disaster Artist, who play the club this Saturday, September 20, with local openers the Eye Traps and Silverlined; and New York City indie-rock weirdos Guerilla Toss, who play Saturday, October 18. Rothwell hopes to book more acts of that size in the future.
“It’s all about maintaining the balance for us,” he said. Rothwell worked at Burlington’s Radio Bean and Light Club Lamp Shop for four years, he said, “and I love that feel so much: homegrown and bohemian and cool as hell.
“Foam has a different crowd,” he noted, citing its blend of tourists and locals. “There’s usually a magical point in the night, especially if we have a punk show, where the local weirdos will show up and start mixing with the tourists and, honestly, I love that vibe.”
“That vibe” was on full display at the Common Ground show, where beer dudes sniffing their IPAs and commenting on “roasty aromas” coexisted with kids who had septum piercings, “Free Palestine” T-shirts and big, black X’s on their hands.
It’s a scene we hope to see continue on the waterfront. With a lineup of jazz, country and DJ nights; the return of locally beloved groove merchants Japhy Ryder on September 27; and non-music offerings such as standup comedy shows and documentary screenings, Foam just keeps growing its vital role in the local music and arts scene.
This article appears in Sep 17-23 2025.
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