CAKE return to Australia in March 2027 for their first tour here in about fifteen years. An Evening With CAKE runs from the Ice Cream Factory in Perth on Sunday 14 March to a second night at The Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on Wednesday 24 March 2027, with seven shows in five cities.
Sydney and Brisbane each get two nights: the Enmore Theatre on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March, and The Fortitude Music Hall on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March. Adelaide's Hindley Street Music Hall (Tuesday 16 March) and Melbourne's Festival Hall (Thursday 18 March) complete the route. The format is two full sets from the band, drawing on hits such as “The Distance”, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, “Never There”, “Frank Sinatra” and their version of “I Will Survive”.
This page lists the confirmed dates and venues, a guide to each room, and CAKE's Australian concert history as documented by setlist.fm: a club tour in 1997, an Easter visit in 2005 and the Harvest festival of November 2012, their last time in the country.
The tour opens in the west. CAKE play the Ice Cream Factory, an event and festival space on Roe Street in Northbridge, on Sunday 14 March 2027. It is a new Perth room for the band, whose only documented Perth show came at the Metro City Concert Club in September 1997.
Adelaide follows on Tuesday 16 March at the Hindley Street Music Hall, an 1,800-capacity venue in the city centre, and Melbourne on Thursday 18 March at Festival Hall in West Melbourne, the old boxing stadium where the Beatles played in 1964. Festival Hall, holding around 5,400, is the biggest room of the tour.
The east coast gets the doubles. CAKE play the Enmore Theatre in Newtown on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March, returning to the venue where they played on 1 April 2005. Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall then hosts the last two nights, on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March 2027.
As the name says, these are evenings with the band rather than a bill with several acts: two sets that dig into the back catalogue as well as the hits. No New Zealand date had been announced as of 9 October 2026, and no other Australian city has been added.
The Ice Cream Factory is an event and festival space on Roe Street in Northbridge, the entertainment district just north of Perth's city centre. It is used for concerts, festival nights and seasonal events, with a capacity of around 5,000.
The Hindley Street Music Hall is an 1,800-capacity concert venue on Hindley Street in Adelaide's city centre. It was developed with the team behind Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall to fill the gap between the smaller Gov and the larger Thebarton Theatre.
Festival Hall opened in 1913 on Dudley Street, West Melbourne, as a boxing venue known as 'the House of Stoush'. Rebuilt after a 1955 fire in time for the 1956 Olympics, it hosted the Beatles in 1964 and holds about 5,400 people.
The Enmore Theatre on Enmore Road in Newtown, in Sydney's inner west, opened in 1912 and was remodelled in Art Deco style in 1937. It holds about 1,700 seated or 2,500 standing and is the longest-running live theatre in Sydney.
The Fortitude Music Hall opened in July 2019 on the Brunswick Street Mall in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. It holds about 3,000 people standing and was built to fill the gap for a mid-sized concert hall in the city.
Sunday 14 March 2027 — Ice Cream Factory, Perth. In Perth, the last documented CAKE concert was at Metro City Concert Club (29 September 1997). The tour starts here.
Tuesday 16 March 2027 — Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide. Their most recent documented Adelaide show was at HQ Complex on 13 November 2012.
Thursday 18 March 2027 — Festival Hall, Melbourne. Their most recent documented Melbourne show was at Werribee Park on 11 November 2012.
Saturday 20 March 2027 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney. This is show 1 of the 2-night stand here. Their previous show at this venue was on 1 April 2005.
Tuesday 23 March 2027 — The Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane. This is show 1 of the 2-night stand here. Their most recent documented Brisbane show was at The Windmill Stage on 18 November 2012. This venue closes the tour.
CAKE first toured Australia in September and October 1997, riding the success of Fashion Nugget and “The Distance”, which helped the album reach number 9 on the Australian chart and go gold here. The setlist.fm archive lists a run of club and campus shows: the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 24 September, The Palace Complex in Melbourne on 25 September, Heaven in Adelaide on 28 September and the Metro City Concert Club in Perth on 29 September.
The band then went to the regions and university circuit: the University of Newcastle on 1 October, the ANU Bar & Refectory in Canberra on 2 October and Selina's at the Coogee Bay Hotel in Sydney on 3 October, before a show at the Brisbane Showgrounds on 4 October 1997. The archive tags these 1997 shows with the name of a much later album, Showroom of Compassion (2011); in reality they belong to the Fashion Nugget period. Short surviving set lists include “Frank Sinatra”, “The Distance”, “I Will Survive”, “Italian Leather Sofa” and “Mr. Mastodon Farm”.
The second visit came in March and April 2005, after Pressure Chief; Wikipedia notes concerts in Australia following the album's European tour. CAKE played Red Devil Park in Byron Bay on 28 March, the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on 30 March and the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on 1 April 2005. The Melbourne and Sydney sets ran to seventeen songs, opening with “Daria” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” and ending with “Mexico” and “I Will Survive”.
The last tour was in November 2012, the year after Showroom of Compassion became their first US number one album. CAKE played the Harvest festival at Werribee Park in Melbourne on 10 and 11 November, Parramatta Park in Sydney on 17 November and the Windmill Stage in Brisbane on 18 November, with headline sideshows at the HQ Complex in Adelaide on 13 November and the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 15 November.
Those 2012 sideshows were longer than the festival sets: the Metro show ran to eighteen songs, from “Sad Songs and Waltzes” and “Opera Singer” through “Shadow Stabbing” and “Is This Love?” to “The Distance”, while Adelaide added “Ruby Sees All”, “Italian Leather Sofa” and “It's Coming Down”. The archive records no CAKE concert in New Zealand.
The table below lists 17 documented Australia/NZ concerts by CAKE between 1997 and 2012, with the most shows in Sydney (5), Melbourne (4), Brisbane (2), Adelaide (2), Byron Bay (1), Canberra (1). It is not exhaustive: it only includes documented shows.
| Date | City | Venue | Tour / event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 November 2012 | Brisbane | The Windmill Stage | |
| 17 November 2012 | Sydney | Parramatta Park | |
| 15 November 2012 | Sydney | Metro Theatre | |
| 13 November 2012 | Adelaide | HQ Complex | |
| 11 November 2012 | Melbourne | Werribee Park | |
| 10 November 2012 | Melbourne | Werribee Park | |
| 1 April 2005 | Sydney | Enmore Theatre | |
| 30 March 2005 | Melbourne | Forum Theatre | |
| 28 March 2005 | Byron Bay | Red Devil Park | |
| 4 October 1997 | Brisbane | Brisbane Showgrounds | |
| 3 October 1997 | Sydney | Selina's Coogee Bay Hotel | Showroom of Compassion |
| 2 October 1997 | Canberra | ANU Bar & Refectory | Showroom of Compassion |
| 1 October 1997 | Newcastle | University of Newcastle | Showroom of Compassion |
| 29 September 1997 | Perth | Metro City Concert Club | Showroom of Compassion |
| 28 September 1997 | Adelaide | Heaven | Showroom of Compassion |
| 25 September 1997 | Melbourne | The Palace Complex | Showroom of Compassion |
| 24 September 1997 | Sydney | Metro Theatre | Showroom of Compassion |
Concert data: setlist.fm
Across the 9 most recent documented Australia/NZ concerts with a full song list (4 October 1997 to 18 November 2012), these are the songs that came up most often. Titles only — set lists change from night to night.
CAKE's most recent Australian appearances were at Harvest in November 2012, the boutique festival that ran in Melbourne (Werribee Park, two days), Sydney (Parramatta Park) and Brisbane. Their festival sets mixed “Frank Sinatra”, “Love You Madly”, “Long Time”, “Mustache Man (Wasted)” and “Sick of You” with “Never There”, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” and “The Distance”, and at Parramatta Park and Werribee Park they also played their cover of Black Sabbath's “War Pigs”.
Earlier outdoor shows in the archive are the Brisbane Showgrounds in October 1997 and Red Devil Park in Byron Bay in March 2005. The 2027 tour has no festival dates: all seven shows are CAKE's own two-set concerts.
CAKE formed in Sacramento, California, in 1991 around singer John McCrea and trumpeter Vince DiFiore, the two members who have been there throughout. Their sound mixes deadpan, sardonic lyrics with trumpet, a tight rhythm section and borrowings from country, mariachi, funk and hip-hop. The band self-released Motorcade of Generosity in 1994, selling copies from their van, before signing to Capricorn Records.
Fashion Nugget (1996) went platinum in the US on the strength of “The Distance”, written by guitarist Greg Brown, and also produced their deadpan take on “I Will Survive”. After Brown and bassist Victor Damiani left, McCrea recruited Xan McCurdy and brought back Gabe Nelson for Prolonging the Magic (1998), whose single “Never There” topped the US Modern Rock chart.
The band moved to Columbia for Comfort Eagle (2001), featuring “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, and Pressure Chief (2004). They then set up their own label, Upbeat Records, which released Showroom of Compassion in 2011; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with about 44,000 copies sold in its first week.
Studio releases have been rare since then, but CAKE have kept touring, and the current line-up is McCrea, DiFiore, McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum and drummer Todd Roper. In Australia, Fashion Nugget remains their high point at number 9, with Comfort Eagle (27) and Prolonging the Magic (28) also reaching the top 30.
| Album | Year | AUS chart peak |
|---|---|---|
| Motorcade of Generosity | 1994 | — |
| Fashion Nugget | 1996 | AUS 9 |
| Prolonging the Magic | 1998 | AUS 28 |
| Comfort Eagle | 2001 | AUS 27 |
| Pressure Chief | 2004 | AUS 99 |
| Showroom of Compassion | 2011 | — |
Sydney is the city CAKE have played most often in Australia, with five documented shows across three tours: the Metro Theatre in 1997 and 2012, Selina's in Coogee in 1997, the Enmore Theatre in 2005 and Parramatta Park at Harvest in 2012. In 2027 the band play two nights at the Enmore, on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March.
The Enmore, on Enmore Road in Newtown, opened in 1912 and is Sydney's longest-running live theatre. A weekend pair of shows there gives the two-set format a proper home and two chances to catch the band in Sydney.
Melbourne's show on Thursday 18 March 2027 is at Festival Hall, the biggest venue of the tour. Opened in 1913 as a boxing venue, rebuilt for the 1956 Olympics and famous for the Beatles' 1964 concerts, it holds about 5,400 people.
CAKE's Melbourne history runs from The Palace Complex in 1997 to the Forum Theatre in 2005 and two days at Werribee Park for Harvest in 2012. This time there is a single night, which is why the city gets the largest room.
Brisbane is the other city with two shows, at The Fortitude Music Hall on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March 2027, closing the tour. The hall opened in 2019 in Fortitude Valley and holds about 3,000 standing.
The band's previous Brisbane shows were outdoors: the Brisbane Showgrounds in October 1997 and the Harvest festival's Windmill Stage in November 2012. The 2027 dates are their first indoor headline concerts in the city in the archive.
Perth opens the tour at the Ice Cream Factory in Northbridge on Sunday 14 March 2027, a festival-style space for about 5,000. The only earlier CAKE show in Perth in the archive was at the Metro City Concert Club in September 1997, so western fans have waited almost thirty years.
Adelaide's date is Tuesday 16 March at the Hindley Street Music Hall, an 1,800-capacity venue in the city centre. CAKE played Heaven in 1997 and the HQ Complex in November 2012, where the eighteen-song set included “Ruby Sees All” and “Italian Leather Sofa”.
A CAKE show is built on John McCrea's dry vocals and acoustic rhythm guitar, Vince DiFiore's trumpet and a band that can swing from country waltz to funk. The band often closes with “The Distance”, as they did at every documented 2012 Australian show.
The most played songs in the Australian archive are “Frank Sinatra” and “The Distance”, followed by “Stickshifts and Safetybelts”, “Wheels”, “Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle” and “Never There”, with “Long Time”, “Sheep Go to Heaven” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” close behind. For 2027 the two-set format means a longer evening than the festival slots of 2012, with deep cuts alongside “The Distance”, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, “Never There”, “Frank Sinatra” and “I Will Survive”; the exact running order has not been published.
Tickets went on general sale on Friday 10 July 2026, after an early-bird presale that opened on Wednesday 8 July. They are sold through the official ticketing outlets listed by each venue, including Moshtix for some rooms, and at the venue box offices. In Sydney and Brisbane, check which of the two nights your ticket is for.
There is no public CAKE presale code to buy or share, and the presale has long closed. Codes or guaranteed tickets offered on social media are not genuine; for sold-out nights use only the official resale service of the original seller, as many Australian venues now issue name-locked mobile tickets.
Production holds are sometimes released close to the date. Sign up below for the alert to hear about new CAKE ticket releases in Australia, or any New Zealand date.
When does CAKE's 2027 Australian tour start?
At the Ice Cream Factory in Perth on Sunday 14 March 2027.
Which cities get two shows?
Sydney (Enmore Theatre, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March) and Brisbane (The Fortitude Music Hall, Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March).
Where does CAKE play in Melbourne?
At Festival Hall in West Melbourne on Thursday 18 March 2027.
When is the Adelaide show?
Tuesday 16 March 2027 at the Hindley Street Music Hall.
What is An Evening With CAKE?
A show with two full sets from the band, mixing hits like “The Distance” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” with deep cuts.
When did CAKE last play in Australia?
In November 2012, at the Harvest festival in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane plus sideshows at the HQ Complex in Adelaide and the Metro Theatre in Sydney.
Has CAKE ever played New Zealand?
The archive records no CAKE concert in New Zealand, and the 2027 tour has no New Zealand date as of 9 October 2026.
Is there a CAKE presale code?
No public code exists. The early-bird presale opened on 8 July 2026 and general sale began on 10 July 2026.
Leave your email and we’ll alert you the moment Australian tickets and pre-sales go live.