Cake, a California-based alternative-indie rock band, will be the featured performer at the annual Large Act Concert to be held at Southwestern University on Thursday, April 17. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the concert will begin at 8 p.m. in the Corbin J. Robertson Center (building #16 on the campus map at www.southwestern.edu/tour/campus-map.pdf).

Tickets for the concert are $10 for Southwestern students and $15 for faculty, staff and the general public. Southwestern students may purchase tickets online at www.southwestern.edu/studentactivities/caketickets.htm using Pirate Buc$ beginning Wednesday, March 26.

Tickets for the general public will be available beginning April 7. There are several options for purchasing tickets:

1. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Southwestern University Student Activities Office on the third floor of the McCombs Campus Center or at a table set up on the first floor of the Campus Center.

2. Tickets can be purchased at the Kerby Lane Café at 2606 Guadalupe St. on Friday, April 11, from 3-10 p.m. or at the Kerby Lane Café at 3704 Kerby Lane on Saturday, April 12, from 3-10 p.m.

3. Tickets also can be purchased at the door.

The concert will kick off a national tour for Cake this spring that includes performances at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt., and the Paramount Club in Seattle.

Formed in Sacramento in 1991, Cake gained a steady following in the San Francisco Bay Area. After some band member changes, Cake is now made up of lead singer John McCrea, trumpet player Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bass guitarist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi. Their 1994 album, Motorcade of Generosity, will be re-released this fall.

After Motorcade of Generosity, Cake released five albums: Fashion Nugget (1997), Prolonging The Magic (1998), Comfort Eagle (2001), Pressure Chief (2004) and B-Sides and Rarities (2007).

Their hit singles include “Short Skirt/Long Jacket,” “Never There,” “Sheep Go To Heaven,” and most notably “The Distance,” which peaked at fourth on the Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks Chart.

Often dubbed as alternative, funk or indie rock, Cake has a sound that is all their own. In addition, they have been associated with musical genres ranging from ska to jazz to country. Their music features lyrics rampant with word play, sarcasm and irony. In a release by their media relations group, Cake is praised with a “notably unique approach to arrangement, composition and instrumentation.” They are often compared with Soul Coughing, King Missile and Talking Heads.

Music by Cake has been featured in a variety of commercials, sitcoms and movies. Lead singer McCrea has contributed vocals to tracks by Ben Folds and electric-pop bank Kinky.

“We are very excited to have CAKE play at Southwestern,” says Brittany Bosse, student co-chair for the Large Act Concert. “We jumped at the opportunity to bring them to campus because they are such a pivotal band and they don’t tour often. Their music combines multiple rock genres that will make a great show for the students and community.”

Cake’s performance will be the third Large Act Concert held at Southwestern. New Found Glory performed in the first concert that was a fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina in spring 2006 and Wyclef Jean performed in fall 2006.

For more information, visit the concert Web site at http://southwestern.edu/studentactivities/cake.htm or call the Office of Student Activities at 512-863-1345.