The Back Alley bring their debut album to Cat's Cradle Back Room

The Chicago band's Back at Home Tour reaches Carrboro on Thursday, Feb. 11, three weeks after their first full-length arrives.

There is a particular kind of February show that Carrboro does well: a band with a brand-new record, a small room, and a crowd that wants to be the first in town to hear it live. The Back Alley just booked one.

The Back Alley play Cat's Cradle (Back Room) in Carrboro on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2027, at 8 p.m. The show was announced Nov. 3, and tickets are through eTix, where it is listed as part of the band's Back at Home Tour 2027.

The tour takes its name from the record. The Chicago band have announced their debut album, *Back At Home*, due Jan. 22, 2027, and shared a new single, "Pick Me Up," with the announcement. That puts the Carrboro date about three weeks after release day, early enough that the songs will still be new to most of the room and late enough that the people who have had the album on repeat will know the words.

The Line of Best Fit's report on the album also laid out where the band has been: supporting DICE through early November, with three dates opening for The Stews after that, and word that headline shows would be announced soon. The Back at Home Tour is that announcement arriving, and the Back Room is where it lands in the Triangle.

A debut album three weeks old and a small room in Carrboro: that is the window when a band is still new enough to surprise you.

The Back Alley have been earning their way up through clubs and college stages. They have turned up on bills at Minneapolis' First Avenue, at Iowa State's Memorial Union with Easy Honey, and at St. Louis' Blueberry Hill Duck Room, which listed a show for April 26, 2026. A 2025 headline night drew a write-up from The Concert Chronicles calling it an unforgettable show, with Scorched Waves and Well + Good in support.

That is the arc that makes the Back Room the right call. It is Cat's Cradle's smaller space, the room the club uses for acts on the way up, and a Thursday in February there is the kind of show where you are close enough to see the setlist taped to the floor.

If you want to go in prepared, *Back At Home* will have been out for three weeks by showtime, and "Pick Me Up" is out now. Tickets are on eTix. No support act was listed when this ran, so keep an eye on the Cradle's calendar for an opener announcement.

Mark Feb. 11, put the album on when it drops in January, and get to the Back Room early.

Sources: The Line of Best Fit: Chicago's The Back Alley announce debut album Back At Home (thelineofbestfit.com); First Avenue: The Back Alley (first-avenue.com); Iowa State Memorial Union: The Back Alley & Easy Honey (mu.iastate.edu); The Pageant: The Back Alley - Blueberry Hill Duck Room - 04.26.26 (thepageant.com); The Concert Chronicles: The Back Alley puts on an unforgettable show (theconcertchronicles.com); eTix tickets (etix.prf.hn); JamBase listing (jambase.com)