By Eddie Hamp, Journalist, and Chyrisse Tabone, Photographer, Rock At Night Tampa
Live Review: CAKE at the BayCare Sound, Clearwater, Florida – October 23, 2026
There was plenty of CAKE to go around at the Clearwater BayCare Sound tonight, with audiences rocking to frontman John McCrea with his notable deadpan vocals and funky grooves, and trumpeter Vince DiFiore keeping the vibe with bright, piercing tones and his own Western, mariachi-influenced brass sound.
CAKE was a one-band show tonight, and as frontman John McCrea put it, “If you came late to skip the warmup band and missed our opening, don’t ask for a song ’cause we already played it” (typical and appreciated John McCrea sarcasm). They performed 19 of their popular songs across two 45-minute sets, and proudly announced a 15-minute intermission so fans could reflect, digest, and recharge their senses for more CAKE! The band’s social issues and environmental causes have been a backbone of their music, and they showcased many songs like Billionaire in Space, Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle, Sick of You, and of course, War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover). The longstanding, twenty-year tradition of gifting a live tree sapling on stage was awarded to “Dudley,” a fan who promised to plant and care for the tree and document its growth and well-being on the band’s online CAKE Forest Map (forest.cakemusic.com). True tree-huggers!
The band encouraged high-energy audience participation, with clapping and dancing from the front-row chairs to the grass seats in the back. Oh, and speaking of grass… They finished the night strong with the popular I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor cover), War Pigs, Short Skirt/Long Jacket, and their first major hit, The Distance. You could just call that “icing on the CAKE.”
Fan appetites fulfilled.
PHOTO GALLERY
I am a lifelong Tampa resident, semi-retired, and an adjunct professor at Hillsborough College. Although I studied Finance and Banking at the University of South Florida, my true passion has been music since the fifth grade. I learned to play guitar at an early age and played trumpet in the school band. Today, I play in three community bands in Tampa and keep busy following the local music scene and enjoying the outdoors.
- Icing on the CAKE: John McCrea and Crew Go the Distance in Clearwater - October 24, 2026
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