Todd Van Sickle is best known as Jennifer Nettles’ first husband and former owner of Eddie’s Attic, a respected Decatur music venue. He owned the club from 2002 to 2005, maintaining its reputation as a songwriter sanctuary. The couple divorced in 2007, and Van Sickle has since maintained a private life away from public attention.
Most people stumble across Todd Van Sickle’s name while searching for Jennifer Nettles, the Grammy-winning voice behind Sugarland. But Van Sickle’s story runs deeper than a brief marriage to a country music star. He owned Eddie’s Attic during a transformative period for the legendary Decatur venue, playing a quiet but real role in Atlanta’s live music history. Public records tell us only fragments of his life, and that’s exactly how he seems to want it.
Finding concrete details about Van Sickle proves difficult. No interviews exist. No social media presence emerges. What we know comes from property records, venue histories, and passing mentions in coverage of Nettles’ early career. He represents something increasingly rare: someone connected to fame who chose to step back rather than lean into the spotlight.
Who is Todd Van Sickle?
Todd Van Sickle is best known as Jennifer Nettles’ first husband and the former owner of Eddie’s Attic, a small but culturally significant music venue in Decatur, Georgia. The two facts intersect at a specific moment in Atlanta music history when songwriters’ showcases and open-mic nights launched careers that would later fill arenas.
Sources disagree on basic biographical details. Some outlets report a 1998 marriage to Nettles, while others cite a 2001 marriage. What’s certain is that the couple divorced in 2007, the same year Sugarland’s “Stay” dominated country radio. Van Sickle owned Eddie’s Attic from approximately 2002 to 2005, although exact dates vary across local reports. He sold the club before Nettles achieved national fame, retreating from public life as her star rose.
The sparse paper trail isn’t accidental. Van Sickle never sought attention for his connection to Nettles or his time running one of the South’s most respected listening rooms. He represents the other side of the music business—the people who book stages, pay light bills, and support artists without ever stepping into a tour bus.
Early connections to the Atlanta music scene
Eddie’s Attic opened in 1992 under founder Eddie Owen, carving out space for acoustic performances and emerging songwriters in a city better known for hip-hop and rock venues. The club’s weekly open mic became an industry ritual. A&R scouts, established musicians, and curious locals packed wooden benches to hear newcomers test material.
This environment mattered because it valued listening. No blaring televisions, no clinking glasses during sets. Artists played original songs to audiences who actually paid attention. John Mayer, Shawn Mullins, and the Indigo Girls all performed there early in their careers. The venue’s reputation grew as a place where talent got noticed.
Van Sickle entered this scene as an entrepreneur, not a performer. How he connected with Owen or decided to buy the venue remains unclear. What matters is the timing—he took ownership as the club’s influence peaked, when booking the right night could change a musician’s trajectory. He stepped into a role that required understanding both business fundamentals and the particular needs of working songwriters.
Eddie’s Attic: ownership and influence
Van Sickle purchased Eddie’s Attic around 2002, inheriting a venue with an established identity but a limited financial cushion. Small music clubs operate on razor-thin margins. One slow month can mean disaster. Yet the Attic thrived under his ownership, maintaining its reputation as a songwriter sanctuary while staying solvent.
The venue continued its Open Mic Shootout, a monthly competition where performers earned slots through audience response. Winners received booking priority and exposure to industry contacts who specifically attended these nights. The format worked because it felt authentic—not a manufactured talent show but a genuine test of whether your songs connected with listeners.
Local coverage from that period notes that Van Sickle kept operational decisions low-key. He didn’t rebrand or chase trends. The stage setup, the booking philosophy, and the emphasis on acoustic performances all stayed consistent. Good venue ownership often looks invisible. The music matters more than the owner’s vision.
Van Sickle sold Eddie’s Attic in 2005 to Bob Ephlin and Eddie Owen, who partnered to return the club to Owen’s hands. Alex Cooley, the legendary Atlanta promoter, later became involved in ownership. Van Sickle walked away before the venue’s 20th anniversary celebrations and before the wider public knew his ex-wife’s voice from car radios and award show performances.
Marriage to Jennifer Nettles (and public timeline)
Todd Van Sickle married Jennifer Nettles when she was still building her career through the Atlanta music circuit. Nettles performed frequently during the late 1990s and early 2000s, developing the vocal style that would later define Sugarland’s sound. She formed the duo Soul Miner’s Daughter, released independent albums, and worked the same songwriter showcases where Van Sickle booked acts.
Sources vary on the exact marriage year. Wikipedia cites the late 1990s without a specific date. Other outlets mention 2001. What’s documented is the divorce in 2007, filed as Nettles’ career accelerated. Sugarland’s “Enjoy the Ride” had already gone platinum. “Stay” was climbing the charts, eventually spending five weeks at number one.
The couple kept their relationship private during and after the marriage. Nettles rarely mentioned Van Sickle in interviews, focusing instead on her music and creative partnerships. No public statements explained the split. No tabloid drama followed. Both moved forward without commentary, which stands out in an industry where personal lives often become promotional material.
Their paths diverged completely after the divorce. Nettles continued with Sugarland, won Grammys, toured internationally, and later remarried. Van Sickle disappeared from the public record. The marriage represents a brief overlap between two people who handled visibility very differently—one embracing the stage, the other preferring to manage it from the shadows.
Life after Eddie’s Attic
Public information about Van Sickle after 2005 essentially vanishes. No business registrations surface. No new ventures get announced. No interviews or profiles emerge. He could have moved away from Atlanta, shifted into a different industry, or simply maintained the same low profile he’d established during his venue-owning years.
Some websites claim to know his current age or net worth, but these figures lack credible sourcing. When outlets disagree on basic facts like marriage dates, numbers about personal wealth become even less reliable. What’s clear is that Van Sickle chose not to leverage his connection to Nettles or his role in Eddie’s Attic history for any public-facing purpose.
This absence of information tells its own story. In an era when everyone maintains some digital presence, Van Sickle’s invisibility seems deliberate. He participated in a significant cultural moment but didn’t try to extend it or profit from it afterward. That restraint suggests someone who valued the work itself over recognition for doing it.
Why Todd Van Sickle matters—a quiet supporting role
Not everyone who influences music history wants their name in lights. Van Sickle represents the venue owners, sound engineers, and behind-the-scenes operators who create space for artists to develop. Eddie’s Attic didn’t become important because one owner made it so—it mattered because multiple people, including Van Sickle, protected what made it special.
His marriage to Nettles adds a human dimension to her origin story. Before stadium tours and television appearances, she was a working musician in Atlanta, married to someone running a small club. That’s how most careers start—not with sudden fame but with years of open mics, empty rooms, and people who believe in the music enough to keep booking shows.
Van Sickle’s story also highlights how quickly cultural contributions fade from memory when someone steps away. He owned a venue that artists still talk about reverently. He was married to a woman who became one of country music’s most recognizable voices. Yet most people couldn’t pick him from a crowd or name a single thing he did beyond those two facts. That anonymity might be exactly what he wanted.
Quick facts
Known for: Former owner of Eddie’s Attic (2002–2005); first husband of Jennifer Nettles
Marriage: Late 1990s or early 2000s (sources vary); divorced 2007
Professional role: Music venue owner and entrepreneur
Current status: Private; no public-facing activities or social media presence
If you’re curious to learn more
Eddie’s Attic still operates in Decatur, maintaining the songwriter-focused approach that defined Van Sickle’s ownership years. The venue’s website archives photos and performance histories that capture the atmosphere he helped preserve. Jennifer Nettles’ official biography mentions her Atlanta years but focuses on musical development rather than personal relationships. Local music journalists occasionally revisit the venue’s history, offering glimpses into the ecosystem where Van Sickle played his part.
The takeaway isn’t that Van Sickle changed music forever. It’s that small venues and the people who run them create conditions for art to happen. He owned Eddie’s Attic during the years when it mattered most, then walked away before anyone thought to document what he’d done. That’s not tragedy or mystery—just someone who contributed what he could and moved on when the moment passed.
