Cat’s Cradle

In the chronology

1. 1969 The Cat's Cradle opens in Chapel Hill Cat's Cradle opened in 1969 as a tiny basement music club near the UNC campus, named for Kurt Vonnegut's novel. After moves within Chapel Hill it settled at 300 East Main Street in Carrboro in 1993, where it became a regular stop for touring acts.
2. 1969–2020 The Cat’s Cradle and the “Chapel Hill sound” of the The Cat’s Cradle opened in 1969, Merge Records was founded in 1989, and by 1992 Superchunk, Polvo, Archers of Loaf and the clubs of Franklin Street had national magazines asking whether Chapel Hill was the next Seattle. The Cradle moved to Carrboro in 1993, Ben Folds Five and the Squirrel Nut Zippers followed, and Merge’s anniversary festivals and the Cradle’s 50th year in 2019 marked a scene that outlived the label hunt.
3. 1973 Cat's Cradle moves to West Rosemary Street The club left its first home, a basement room near campus, for 405½ West Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill, its second location.
4. 1986 Frank Heath buys Cat's Cradle David Robert and his partners sold the Chapel Hill club to Frank Heath and Richard Fox in 1986; Heath became sole owner in 1987 and still runs the club. People: Frank Heath
5. February 1989 Cat's Cradle opens at 206 West Franklin Street After leaving the small 320 West Franklin Street room known as the shoebox in August 1988, the club reopened at 206 West Franklin Street, its fourth location, where it stayed until 1993. People: Frank Heath
6. October 4, 1991 Nirvana plays Cat's Cradle Nirvana played the club's West Franklin Street room ten days after the release of Nevermind; Pearl Jam also played the Cradle in 1991, to about 100 people.
7. December 1992 The Chapel Hill sound gains national attention Spin's December 1992 feature "Robbing the Cradle," its title a play on the Cat's Cradle, looked at Polvo and other local bands as record scouts hunted for the next big thing after Seattle. By January 1993 the Daily Tar Heel counted about six publications calling Chapel Hill the next Seattle, and Details and Time followed that year.
8. 1993 The Cat's Cradle moves to Carrboro After about six months dark, the club reopened in the former Nice Price Books space at 300 East Main Street, a standing-room hall holding about 750. People: Frank Heath
9. May 19, 1993 Cat's Cradle closes its last Franklin Street location The owners of the building at 206 West Franklin Street sold to a developer, and the club scheduled its last show there for May 19; Frank Heath then spent about six months looking for a new site. People: Frank Heath
10. July 22–26, 2009 Merge Records marks its 20th anniversary with the XX Merge festival The label held four nights at Cat's Cradle and a finale at UNC's Memorial Hall, with film screenings at the Ackland Art Museum and a free show at the Orange County Social Club in Carrboro. People: Mac McCaughan, Laura Ballance
11. December 2010 First Big Star's Third concert is staged at Cat's Cradle Stamey served as musical director for a live staging of Big Star's 1975 album Third, which debuted at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro before later shows in London and at South by Southwest in 2012.
12. 2013 Cat's Cradle opens the Back Room The club added a second room holding about 200 people beside its main hall at 300 East Main Street. People: Frank Heath
13. July 23–26, 2014 Merge Records holds its 25th anniversary festival in Carrboro Merge marked 25 years with a festival built around Cat's Cradle, ending with an outdoor show in the club's parking lot that organizers expected to draw about 3,000 people after the indoor nights sold out. Passes were sold through the Cat's Cradle website. People: Mac McCaughan
14. February 3, 2015 Frank Heath tells the Carrboro Board of Aldermen that the Cat's Cradle has outgrown its building At the second public hearing on a proposed arts and innovation center and hotel at East Main Street, Heath said the Cat's Cradle and the ArtsCenter were both too big for their buildings and that expansion had become urgent. He called it a dilemma for a small town with two successful arts organizations. People: Lydia Lavelle
15. July 24–27, 2019 Merge Records holds its 30th anniversary festival at Cat's Cradle and in Durham More than 30 acts from the label's roster played MRG30 over four days. The Carrboro nights were at Cat's Cradle, where Superchunk closed the Thursday bill at midnight, and the opening night and after party were in Durham. Fans held a potluck and kickball game at Wilson Park in Carrboro on the Friday. People: Mac McCaughan
16. December 2019–January 2020 Cat's Cradle marks 50 years with an anniversary concert series The "Cat's Cradle Turns 50" series put 50 acts on stage over six nights at the Carrboro club. People: Frank Heath
17. March 11–13, 2020 Cat's Cradle plays its last shows before the pandemic shutdown Destroyer played the main room at 300 East Main Street on March 11, 2020, and Songs From the Road Band played the Back Room on March 13, the club's last shows before COVID-19 closed it. Heath said he began rescheduling on the night of March 11, when the NBA suspended its season, and the March 14 shows were cancelled.
18. July 31, 2020 North Carolina musicians release Cover Charge to benefit the Cat's Cradle Twenty-five North Carolina acts, among them Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, Tift Merritt and Iron and Wine, recorded cover songs for an album to raise money for the closed Carrboro club. Musician and UNC professor Florence Dore organized it, and Heath said presales were running better than expected.
19. 2024 Merge Records marks 35 years with four shows at Cat's Cradle Merge celebrated its 35th anniversary with four shows at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, the club that had held its earlier anniversary festivals, in the same year the label was named to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. People: Mac McCaughan

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