Legendary Burlington, VT venue Nectar’s, which helped launch the careers of artists like Phish, Grace Potter and Twiddle, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with a run of special shows celebrating the rich history of the town’s music scene.

Next up, Nectar’s will welcome two staples from the venue’s history, Unknown Blues Band and Smokin’ Grass.

UBB, who will play Club Metronome on November 19, were a large part of the Vermont scene for almost 27 years, drawing musicians young and old to see their famous local performances. The band boasts as fans both BB King, who sat in with them several times, and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, who cites UBB as one of his main reasons for his moving to the state to attend UVM. Anastasio was later taught by UBB’s guitarist Paul Asbell and recruited bassist Tony Markellis for his solo band in 1998.

Smokin’ Grass formed in Burlington in 1994 and toured and recorded their unique brand of newgrass for ten years. The band’s December 10 performance at Nectar’s will mark their first show together in ten years as they will reunited to celebrate 40 years of Nectar’s.

Read our new interview with two of the men behind the 40th anniversary celebrations, Brian Mital and Alex Budney, in which they discuss the preparations for the year, explain what Nectar’s means to Burlington and share some of their favorite moments at the legendary venue.