Cat's Cradle is a music venue and

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

located in

Carrboro Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census.

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, less than a mile from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

campus. It has two floors with a capacity of 750 people. In the early 1990s, it contributed to the

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

region being called the "Next Seattle" by the music press, given that the club hosted upcoming regional and national alternative and grunge acts such as

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

(who last performed there just 10 days after the release of ''

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a major label and the first to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, ''Neve ...

''),

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

, and

Ween Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...

(who documented their December 9, 1992, performance with ''

At the Cat's Cradle, 1992 ''At the Cat's Cradle, 1992'' is the sixth live album by the American rock band Ween. It was released on November 25, 2008 on Chocodog Records. The 2-disc package includes a CD containing a live performance from December 9, 1992 at the Cat's Crad ...

''). In later years, the venue also saw performances by

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

and

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

. In August 2009, The Cosmopolitans played their reunion concert at Cat's Cradle following a 27-year hiatus.

History

The original Cat's Cradle opened in 1969 and was located in a basement about a half mile from the current location. It was significantly smaller, with a capacity of around two dozen people. The club relocated and changed ownership several times, and almost went bankrupt in 1983 due to unpaid taxes. In 1987 the club was sold to the current owner, Frank Heath. After a six month hiatus in 1993, Cat's Cradle moved to its current location on Main Street. In recent years, an additional yet smaller club next door called Cat’s Cradle Back Room was opened. In 2020, the club nearly closed its doors permanently due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. To cover financial losses, an exclusive album of studio cover songs called ''Cover Charge'' was created that featured North Carolina-based artists such as

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the ...

Iron & Wine Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a ...

The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...

Sarah Shook River Shook (born September 15, 1985), known professionally by her birth name Sarah Shook, is an American Country music, country singer-songwriter from Chatham County, North Carolina. Their "high lonesome" style incorporates Cowpunk, country-pu ...

and

The Connells ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. The venue has since reopened.

Live albums

Notable live albums documenting shows at Cat's Cradle include: *

Dillon Fence Dillon Fence was an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They were initially active from the mid-1980s until 1995. The band released three full-length albums (''Rosemary'', ''Outside In'' and ''Living Room Scene'') on Mammoth Reco ...

– ''Live at the Cat's Cradle'' (2001)Mason, Stewart
Dillon Fence Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved January 19, 2018 *

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, countr ...

– ''

The Revelator Collection ''The Revelator Collection'' DVD is a mix of music videos and concert footage of singer-songwriter Gillian Welch and her musical partner David Rawlings. All of the video was filmed in black and white by still photographer Mark Seliger. The firs ...

'' (2002) *

– '' The Clambakes Series Vol. 3'' (2004) *

– ''

'' (2008)

References

{{Reflist Music venues in North Carolina