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Storyline

The Cat’s Cradle and the “Chapel Hill sound” of the 1990s

The club, the labels, and the bands that brought national attention to the Chapel Hill–Carrboro music scene.

In briefThe 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.

Read the 30 eventsAll storylines

115 works about The Cat’s Cradle and the “Chapel Hill sound” of the 1990s are indexed here. 3 held at OCPL →

Search these works Research sources View indexed works ↓

In the chronology

Events in this storyline, in date order. See these 30 dated events in the chronology →

  1. 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.Chapel Hill Historical Society: Cat's Cradle, 300 East Main Street
  2. Cat's Cradle reopens on West Rosemary Street After about a year closed, Cat's Cradle reopened in 1973 at 405½ West Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill, its second home, run by Marcia Wilson and Bill Smith. Its first home had been a small basement room near campus.The Daily Tar Heel, July 26, 1973, p. 4 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, August 28, 1973, p. 32; Chapel Hill Historical Society: 300 East Main Street; Open Orange: Cat's Cradle
  3. 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 HeathNC Arts Council: Hip History: Cat's Cradle Is Still Rocking After 50 Years
  4. Merge Records is founded in Chapel Hill Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance started Merge in Chapel Hill in 1989, the year they formed Superchunk, to put out their own band's and friends' records on 7-inch singles and cassettes. People: Mac McCaughan, Laura BallanceUNC Libraries: Merge Records Collection, 1987-2012 (finding aid)
  5. Cat's Cradle opens at 206 West Franklin Street After its lease ran out on September 1, 1988, at 320 West Franklin Street, the small room known as the shoebox, the club held its grand reopening in February 1989 at 206 West Franklin Street, its fourth location, where it stayed until 1993. People: Frank HeathThe Daily Tar Heel, February 15, 1989, p. 1 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, January 18, 1989, p. 1; Chapel Hill Historical Society: Cat's Cradle, 300 East Main Street; Open Orange: Cat's Cradle
  6. Superchunk releases its first album The Chapel Hill band, whose early singles had launched Merge Records, issued its self-titled debut album on Matador; Merge put out the band's later albums from Chapel Hill and Carrboro. People: Mac McCaughan, Laura BallanceColumbia Magazine: Merge Records and the Explosion of American Indie Rock
  7. 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.NC Arts Council: Hip History: Cat's Cradle Is Still Rocking After 50 Years
  8. Local 506 opens on West Franklin Street Glenn Boothe opened Local 506, an all-ages rock club for emerging and local bands, at 506 West Franklin Street and owned it for about a decade.Local 506: About
  9. Merge releases its first full-length, Superchunk's Tossing Seeds The Superchunk singles collection Tossing Seeds (Singles 89–91) was Merge's first full-length release and its first CD. People: Mac McCaughan, Laura BallanceUNC Libraries: Merge Records Collection, 1987-2012 (finding aid)
  10. Polvo releases its debut album Cor-Crane secret on Merge The Chapel Hill quartet's first album came out on Merge in 1992, followed by Today's Active Lifestyles on Merge in 1993.Trouser Press: Polvo
  11. 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.NC Arts Council: A Look At The Indie Rock Music Scene In Chapel Hill (David Menconi, July 22, 2019)
  12. Entertainment Weekly asks whether Chapel Hill is the next Seattle A 1993 Entertainment Weekly article proposed Chapel Hill as Seattle's successor and questioned whether Superchunk wanted the role; Rolling Stone the same year floated Superchunk as the next Nirvana. People: Mac McCaughanColumbia Magazine: Merge Records and the Explosion of American Indie Rock
Show all 30 dated events
  1. Squirrel Nut Zippers form near Chapel Hill Jim Mathus and Katharine Whalen, who had moved from Chapel Hill to a farmhouse in Efland, started the band in summer 1993, played their first show that November and signed with Mammoth Records in 1994.Encyclopedia.com: Squirrel Nut Zippers (Contemporary Musicians; Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990)
  2. 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 HeathNC Arts Council: Hip History: Cat's Cradle Is Still Rocking After 50 Years
  3. Details magazine profiles the scene as "Chapel Hill-billies" Details followed Spin with a February 1993 piece on the town's bands, and Time the same year named Chapel Hill as a possible alternative-rock boomtown.NC Arts Council: A Look At The Indie Rock Music Scene In Chapel Hill
  4. 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 HeathPink House Forever (blog): End of a Franklin Street Era for Cat's Cradle (reprint of Indie-List Digest #31, May 15, 1993)
  5. Archers of Loaf release their debut album Icky Mettle The Chapel Hill band's first album came out on Alias Records; Merge later reissued it with bonus material.Archers of Loaf (Bandcamp): Icky Mettle (Reissue)
  6. Merge Records has its office in Carrboro Merge Records had its office in Carrboro on Main Street, a few steps from the Armadillo Grill, where Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance ran the label. Merge had started in Ballance's spare room in Chapel Hill, and in 2001 McCaughan and Ballance bought a building in downtown Durham for it. People: Mac McCaughan, Laura BallanceThe Daily Tar Heel, September 8, 1994, p. 5 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, December 1, 1994, p. 13; Columbia Magazine: Merge Records and the Explosion of American Indie Rock; Open Orange: Merge Records
  7. Ben Folds Five release their debut album The piano trio, formed in Chapel Hill around 1993, issued its self-titled first album on the independent Caroline label, then signed with Sony's 550 Music, which released Whatever and Ever Amen in 1997. People: Ben FoldsEncyclopedia.com: Ben Folds Five (Contemporary Musicians; Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990)
  8. Squirrel Nut Zippers release Hot on Mammoth Records The band's second album and its single "Hell" reached the national charts during the swing revival, and Hot went platinum.Encyclopedia.com: Squirrel Nut Zippers (Contemporary Musicians; Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990)
  9. Ben Folds Five record Whatever and Ever Amen at Folds's Chapel Hill home After a summer on the Lollapalooza tour, the band recorded its second album in the small living room of Folds's Chapel Hill house with producer Caleb Southern. The album went on to sell more than a million copies.Search the index · Encyclopedia.com: Ben Folds Five (Contemporary Musicians; Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990)
  10. Disney buys Carrboro's Mammoth Records The Walt Disney Company announced its purchase of the Carrboro-based independent label for about $25 million, and founder Jay Faires signed a long-term employment contract.D23: Mammoth Records
  11. Ben Folds Five reunite for a concert in UNC's Memorial Hall In their first show in eight years, the band played its last album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, in full at Memorial Hall for MySpace Music's Front to Back series. NC Arts Council describes it as a benefit for Operation Smile.Search the index · INDY Week: Live: Ben Folds Five (Grayson Haver Currin, September 19, 2008)
  12. 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 BallanceINDY Week: Merge Records turns 20
  13. 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 HeathChapel Hill Historical Society: 300 East Main Street (Cat's Cradle)
  14. 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 McCaughanSearch the index · INDY Week: Working for you: Merge Records at 25
  15. 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 LavelleSearch the index · Chapelboro: Cat's Cradle Owner to Carrboro BoA: Growing Arts Scene Presents 'Dilemma'
  16. 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 McCaughanSearch the index · BrooklynVegan: Merge Records 30th Anniversary Fest begins (final lineup, set times, and a Spinanes reunion)
  17. 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 HeathNC Arts Council: Hip History: Cat's Cradle Is Still Rocking After 50 Years
  18. 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.Search the index · ABC11: Cat's Cradle: North Carolina musicians team up for fundraising album for beloved Carrboro music venue

Places in this history

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

  • Cat’s Cradle Businesses, mills and venues · Carrboro · 15 events here
  • Memorial Hall University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 2 events here
  • Ackland Art Museum University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
  • The ArtsCenter Libraries, museums and media · Carrboro · 1 event here

All places and the county map →

Indexed works

Related works found in catalogs and archives across North Carolina. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it.

Filter these works by material, period, or place. Counts refer to works, not individual copies. A work may appear under more than one period or place.

Material

Histories 4Biography 1

Period

20th century 221st century 1

Place

Carrboro 75Chapel Hill 72North Carolina (statewide) 65

A Really Strange and Wonderful Time

Maxwell, Tom · 2024 · Hachette Books

Tom Maxwell's 2024 account of Chapel Hill's alternative rock scene in the 1990s, set against North Carolina's longer musical history. Maxwell writes as a musician who played in that scene, and the book follows the bands, clubs and labels that drew national attention to the town. Subjects include alternative rock music, Chapel Hill, 1991-2000, history and criticism. Published by Hachette, 310 pages with plates.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Alternative rock music -- North Carolina -- Chapel Hill -- History and criticism.

✓ Held at OCPL · 780.903 MAXWELL NC Cardinal Duke UNC Chapel Hill PL Durham

A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons

Folds, Ben · 2019

Singer and songwriter Ben Folds (born 1966), whose band Ben Folds Five came together in Chapel Hill, looks back on his life in music. Chapters cover his music teachers and 'cheap lessons', a stretch in Nashville, the band's first albums and the music business, 'Rockin' the suburbs', going solo, and the years after a low point, told through anecdotes and working advice. Published in a first edition of 2019, 311 pages with illustrations.

Included because: The record names this subject alongside a heading for the county or its towns.

✓ Held at OCPL · BIO FOLDS FOL Duke NC Cardinal Durham Chapel Hill PL

Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small

Cook, John · 2009 · Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

John Cook's history of Merge Records, the independent label that Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of Superchunk built in Chapel Hill. Chapters follow the label year by year from 1987 to 2009 and pause for profiles of Butterglory, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Magnetic Fields, Spoon, Lambchop and the Arcade Fire, ending on how it managed to stay small. Advance reading copy of the first edition, published in Chapel Hill in 2009, 289 pages with twelve pages of plates.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Merge Records.

✓ Held at OCPL · 338.761 COOK UNC Duke NC State NC Cardinal Durham Chapel Hill PL Library of Congress

Late century dream : movements in the US indie music underground.

2013

Essays on the American independent music underground, edited by Thomas Howells according to the colophon and published in London in 2013. The essays include the history and criticism of alternative rock in Chapel Hill. Of interest to readers following North Carolina music of the late twentieth century.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Alternative rock music -- North Carolina -- Chapel Hill -- History and criticism.

UNC

What did you expect? : the Archers of Loaf live at Cat's Cradle

2011 · MVD Visual

Concert film of the Archers of Loaf recorded at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on August 19 and 20, 2011, released on a single videodisc running 89 minutes in color with sound. Extras include six additional songs, four interviews with the band and a trailer. Topics include rock concerts in Carrboro and rock music of the 2010s.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Archers of Loaf (Musical group).

UNC

The Merge Records companion : a visual discography of the first twenty years

Merge Records · 2009 · Merge Records

Visual discography covering the first twenty years of Merge Records, the independent label founded in Chapel Hill, published by the label itself in 2009. Album covers and catalog listings make up the substance of it, and the spine carries the label number MRG353. Topics include the sound recording industry in Chapel Hill and catalogs of album covers.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Merge Records.

UNC
Show 6 more

Chapel Hill young rock.

1994 · Cane Man Films

Video compilation of seventeen music videos by Chapel Hill area bands, directed by Norwood Cheek and released by Cane Man Films of Carrboro in 1994, with clips of local figures cut between the songs. Running an hour and seven minutes on VHS, it documents the Chapel Hill alternative rock scene of the early 1990s. Subjects include alternative rock and popular music in Chapel Hill.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Alternative rock music -- North Carolina -- Chapel Hill.

UNC Duke

[Merge Records website archives]

Merge Records · Internet Archive

Archived captures of the website of Merge Records, the independent record label founded in Chapel Hill, preserved by the Internet Archive. Alternative rock music and the sound recording industry in Chapel Hill are its subjects. The Internet Archive stands as publisher with San Francisco as the place, and no capture dates or extent are recorded.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Merge Records.

UNC

Oversize Paper 41: Mogwai, Growing at Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, N.C., 8 March 2006.: Scan 1

Burns, Casey, 1975 · 2006

Mogwai and Growing at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro on 8 March 2006. Concert poster by Casey Burns, number 41 in his oversize series, which runs from 1997 to 2006.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Alternative rock music -- North Carolina -- Chapel Hill.

DPLA

Oversize Paper 38: Bettie Serveert, Schooner at Local 506, Chapel Hill, N.C., 9 March 2005.: Scan 1

Burns, Casey, 1975 · 2005

Chapel Hill's Local 506 was the venue for Bettie Serveert and Schooner on 9 March 2005. Poster by Casey Burns, number 38 in his oversize series of concert posters from 1997 to 2006.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Alternative rock music -- North Carolina -- Chapel Hill.

DPLA

Oversize Paper 39: Gang of Four, Morningwood, Men Women & Children at Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, N.C., 6 October 2005.: Scan 1

Burns, Casey, 1975 · 2005

Gang of Four, Morningwood, and Men Women & Children at the Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, on 6 October 2005. A Casey Burns concert poster, oversize number 39 of the series he made from 1997 to 2006.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Alternative rock music -- North Carolina -- Chapel Hill.

DPLA

Oversize Paper 40: Southern Culture on the Skids, the Moaners at Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, N.C., 10 December 2005.: Scan 1

Burns, Casey, 1975 · 2005

Southern Culture on the Skids with the Moaners at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, 10 December 2005. Poster by Casey Burns, number 40 in his oversize series of 1997 to 2006.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Alternative rock music -- North Carolina -- Chapel Hill.

DPLA

Search all 115 indexed works →

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this storyline. Research guide: Follow an event across several accounts.

Background

  • Cat's Cradle: About Venue's own profile of the Carrboro club near campus, 750 capacity, that has hosted Nirvana, Public Enemy and Joan Baez.

Collections and databases

Local help 5

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