For students at the University of Tennessee, April 27, 2007 wasn't just the last day of classes, it was the day the band Cake came to town to relieve the stress of final exams, projects and term papers.  The fifth annual Volapalooza was a free concert event for UT students as well as the general public.  

 Volapalooza was presented by the Campus Entertainment Board at Fiji Island in Fraternity Park.  The event hosted local band Plan A and Chapel Hill, North Carolina's The Old Ceremony along with the headliner Cake.  The event was catered by Moe's Southwest Grill located on Cumberland Avenue on campus.

 UT students were allowed through the gates by presenting their student ID's.  Members of the general public were required to sign their names at the gate but were otherwise also allowed free access to the event.  There was plenty of room for everyone to stretch out and many groups of people lounged on the rock formations in clear view of the stage.

 The event began with a performance from local band Plan A lead by singer Matt Woods.  The band warmed up the crowd as more people filed in through the gates.  Many attendees stood at a distance while others pressed up to the barriers in front of the stage to get up close and personal with the band.

 The Old Ceremony followed Plan A with a performance of  a full set including the song "Papers in Order" heard on UT's own WUTK 90.3 the Rock.  The Old Ceremony has played twice with Cake during their current tour and, as of Friday's performance, have played more than 100 shows since their latest CD release in October.
 
When Cake finally appeared on stage the sound from the crowd was deafening.  The band was hindered by unknown flight delays, but arrived just in time for their performance.   Cake energized the crowd of all ages complete with head bangers, crowd surfers and distant on lookers.  With an encore of three crowd favorites, Cake ended the night on a good note.

 "We had a really great time tonight.  It was a really nice crowd," said lead singer Django Haskins of The Old Ceremony after Cake's performance as attendees shuffled out of the park.  Members of Plan A also stayed behind to talk to fans and to promote their new CD release scheduled for May 8, 2007.

Following last year's Volapalooza performance by Ben Folds, the fifth annual celebration of the final days of school was again a great success.