Growing up in Oak Park, Jaden Cone, Ben Kremer and Ralph Porter ran in similar social circles and were all graduates of both Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in 2016 and Oak Park and River Forest High School in 2020.
But despite coming from the same neighborhood and school district, the three were never really close friends — let alone knew one another well enough to make music together — until October 2022.
Following high school, Cone took a gap year to save money by working at Elmwood Park’s Alpine Food Shop and Oak Park’s Maya Del Sol before attending Berklee College of Music in Boston to pursue a bachelor’s degree in music business; Porter discovered his love for audio engineering at SAE Institute Chicago; and Kremer passed up on the typical college route, opening his own recording studio, Picture-Minded Studio in Lemont, where his family also runs a School of Rock music school.
In mid-2022, through mutual friends, Cone, Porter and Kremer reconnected with one another, combining Cone’s guitar skills, Kremer’s drums mastery and Porter’s vocal strength to form a new band — The Back Alley.
One month after coming together, The Back Alley performed their first gig in Lombard. Around the same time, Porter introduced his college classmates and Chicagoland natives, Sal Defilippis and Hunter Olshefke from the band Ax and the Hatchetmen, bringing Defilippis’ guitar expertise and Olshefke’s smooth bass sounds to officially form the quintet.
Described as blending the sounds of indie and alternative rock with elements of jazz and funk, Cone says The Back Alley’s music stems from all of the members’ different musical influences and favorites.
“We just released a cover of an Alabama Shakes song called ‘Always Alright’ that feels pretty rock to me,” he said. “Our new single, “Is It Me?’ kind of fits that category, too. At the end of the day, I think we all just want to write and record music that makes us feel something by being vulnerable enough to express what’s going on in our lives in a song, while creating something that is enjoyable for our audience to listen to and hear live.”
Over the past three and a half years, The Back Alley has spent countless hours writing music and playing gigs across the U.S., garnering a large fanbase along the way. In 2024, they earned national recognition through their singles “Grey Skies” and “Brand New,” and were named Best Rock Band by Chicago Reader in 2025.
As of April, the band has over 90,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, tens of thousands of views across dozens of TikTok videos and over 12,000 followers on Instagram.
“Without the early buzz those two songs saw, I don’t think we would have landed some of the shows that put us on the map,” said Cone. “Those two songs gaining a bit of traction on Spotify and TikTok gave us the confidence and credibility we needed to pitch ourselves for the band’s early tours, such as supporting Penelope Road and Marlon Funaki, which ultimately led to us being able to return to those same markets as a headliner and pitch ourselves for future support tours. Also, thanks to those songs gaining a couple hundred thousand streams, we were able to catch the attention of our booking agent, Brandon Hughes (ROAM Artists), who has been a key player in our success throughout the last year.”
Cone says what is leading to The Back Alley’s growing success is that at each of their live shows, they not only utilize social media, but strongly value crowd engagement.
“I think we all think the opportunity to play live in front of people who have never heard us before and have their full attention for 30 to 60 minutes uninterrupted is the best chance we’re going to get at selling our band and making new fans,” he said. “It’s so important to us to be able to meet and talk to anyone at the show who wants to meet and talk to us [and] I think the energy we bring when we step on stage is what can hopefully set us apart.”
While not on the road or in the studio, Cone works at Berwyn’s historic live music venue, FitzGerald’s, as the assistant talent buyer and production manager, overseeing artist relations and hospitality; Kremer works in Lemont at both his recording studio (which serves as The Back Alley’s main recording hub) and the family’s School of Rock location; and Porter is climbing the ladder at his family’s company, Porter Pipe & Supply Company in Addison, handling the logistics of hundreds of clients across the Midwest. Cone still lives in Oak Park, while Kremer now lives in Homer Glen near his businesses and Porter lives in Elmwood Park.
Overall, Cone says all members of The Back Alley are very passionate about what they’re trying to build with the band, and playing music and performing together has become much more than just a hobby for everyone.
“With the support of new listeners giving our music a chance, we can hopefully keep it that way,” he added. “We care very deeply about the music, the live shows and everything we’re putting out in the world, and I think our upcoming unreleased music will showcase that passion better than ever.”
The Back Alley recently released their newest single, “Is It Me?” which was accompanied by a music video shot at Alpine Food Shop. They are currently on a national spring tour, with their biggest headline show to date coming on Friday, May 1 at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. Tickets are available at thebackalleyband.com.