The Backseat Lovers and Sleeper’s Bell Rock the Cradle

Joshua Harmon, the lead singer of The Backseat Lovers, performing at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina, on September 16, 2025. Photo Creds: Rosalyn Rabinowitz, The Powderhorn 

Rosalyn Rabinowitz, Junior Editor and News Desk Lead

In Carrboro, North Carolina, only a few minutes from Chapel Hill, people lined up in a back alley outside of a small venue called the Cat’s Cradle for the band The Backseat Lovers. Despite the 5 million listeners they have on Spotify, The Backseat Lovers are currently on a tour through small and intimate venues to make their shows more meaningful to their audiences. 

As soon as concert goers stepped into the Cat’s Cradle, they felt an electric buzz in the air. The crowd was anxious and excited for the performance they were about to see in the smoke filled and dimly lit room. As sweaty bodies pushed through the crowd to get closer to the front, the opening band Sleeper’s Bell began to set up their equipment.

Sleeper’s Bell is a new and upcoming indie band that sounds like a mix between Lizzy McAlpine and The Backseat Lovers. With a great stage presence, Sleeper’s Bell put on a commanding performance that automatically enthralled every person in the audience. Each song had an interesting mix of soft and delicate tones to groovy beats that got the audience dancing. While saxophone isn't normally used in this style of music, the inclusion of many saxophone solos added a jazzy feel that enhanced the complexity of The Sleeper’s Bell songs. Throughout the whole set, the crowd was ecstatically whooping and hollering for more, pleasantly surprised by this small band. While almost no one knew who The Sleeper’s Bell were before this night, they certainly made a name for themselves and exhilarated the crowd for the main act. 

As Sleeper’s Bell began cleaning up their equipment and The Backseat Lovers started to get ready for their set, the audience was uncontainable. Every audience member was on their toes jumping up and down knowing that the band they had waited months to see was going to come on stage soon. The longer the audience waited, the more the anticipation grew, with every audience member discussing the set list from previous nights and what they hoped would be played tonight.

With mangy sets of hair and bummy band t-shirts, The Backseat Lovers stepped on stage, and the crowd exploded with excitement.  After the normal pleasantries of introducing the band and thanking Sleeper’s Bell, they open with one of their most popular songs, not “Dugout,” but “Pool House”.

The Backseat lovers are a unique band with hard hitting songs and soft soothing songs. Every song the Backseat Lover’s play has strong lyrics that hit audience members in their chest. The crowd sings along to every single song The Backseat Lovers play. The environment in the Cat's Cradle was electric. This was a memorable night for the crowd and the band. This energy inspired The Backseat Lovers to make a small setlist change that resulted in them playing two unreleased songs from a new album. Both of these songs had a softer tone with extreme attention to lyrics, giving crowd members an idea of what their unreleased album may sound like. This setlist change made the concert more memorable for the audience. This connection continued throughout the rest of the show. 

Though the change in the setlist and music made the show worthwhile itself, the stage presence of the lead singer Joshua Harmon added an element of surprise. Every sound and chord was a feeling and prompted an expression on Harmon's face. This showed just how connected Harmon is to the music he makes and how he doesn’t just play music, but feels it. This created an entirely different viewing experience. The visual and facial expressions of Harmon allowed the audience to feel the music the same way Harmon does. 

The playing of many classic hits, new unreleased songs, and even some old but great songs like Sinking Ship, created a great night of music for the audience. While the music was amazing, the atmosphere, venue, and stage presence of the band elevated the whole experience. This set the bar high for the audience regarding future concerts. The Backseat Lovers are a great band that is 10 times better live than could have ever been imagined. They truly make a personal connection with the audience that makes their concerts that much better.