The Boardwalk rock venue in Orangevale closes due to pandemic and ‘dwindling’ crowds

The Boardwalk, one of the Sacramento area’s most prominent rock music venues for the past three decades, has permanently closed.

“After 35 years as a mainstay in the Sacramento music scene, it is with heavy hearts that we must announce that The Boardwalk is closing its stage for good, effective immediately,” the venue wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday.

Following the 2020 death of her husband, Boardwalk owner Mark Earl, owner Sandy Silk-Earl had placed the building for sale in April 2021 with the intent of only selling to a buyer who would keep it a music venue, the Sacramento Business Journal reported last year.

The building, at 9426 Greenback Lane in Orangevale, was later taken off the market. But according to Tuesday’s announcement, it will be put back up for sale.

Additionally, the Boardwalk’s “legendary collection of 300+ signed guitars is up for sale immediately to serious buyers.”

The Instagram post said the “pandemic, dwindling crowds and mounting financial pressures” prompted the decision to close the venue for good.

The closure comes less than a month after Holy Diver in midtown Sacramento, another rock venue that drew lively crowds before the COVID-19 pandemic halted live performances, shuttered permanently.

The Boardwalk said inquiries about the club or the guitars can be sent to Silk-Earl at sandyattheboardwalk@gmail.com or 916-955-1222.