John McCrea, singer of the band Cake, performs during a benefit concert for congressional candidates Mai Vang and Effie Phillips-Staley at Channel 24 in Sacramento on Sunday, March 22, 2026.
HANNAH RUHOFF
hruhoff@sacbee.com
The band Cake hosted a concert Sunday in Sacramento, the city where the alternative rock group formed, to fundraise in support of city Councilmember Mai Vang’s bid for California’s 7th Congressional District.
Vang is running against longtime incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui to represent Sacramento, south Sacramento and parts of Elk Grove, El Dorado Hills, Placerville, Lodi and Galt.
“I’m so excited just to be part of this and so proud to have the support of a band that sings truth to power,” said Vang, who was elected to the Sacramento City Council in 2020 and was the first Asian American woman on the council. “This is about supporting a progressive movement across our country, East Coast, West Coast, because it’s time for change.”
Vang’s opponent Matsui has held the congressional seat since 2005, serving 11 consecutive terms. The area was formerly represented by her husband, Rep. Bob Matsui, who held the seat from 1979 until his death in 2005. She has been endorsed by prominent Democrats such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, as well as a majority of the Sacramento City Council, including Mayor Kevin McCarty.
The concert was also held to benefit Sacramento native and Democrat Effie Phillips-Staley’s race for New York’s 17th District.
John McCrea, singer of the band Cake, center, meets with congressional candidates Mai Vang, right, and Effie Phillips-Staley, center left, and former U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman, left, before a benefit concert hosted by the two campaigns and Cake at Channel 24 in Sacramento on Sunday, March 22, 2026. HANNAH RUHOFF hruhoff@sacbee.com
“It is the moment for progressives, because we put people first, instead of a nation that prioritizes spending our tax dollars on wars that this country doesn’t even want when we could have health care for all, when we could have universal child care, when we could have affordable housing,” Phillips-Staley said.
Both Vang and Phillips-Staley attended Sacramento High School, which members of Cake also attended.
Cake formed in 1991 and rose to national fame throughout the decade, particularly after the band’s second album, “Fashion Nugget,” went platinum with the lead single, “The Distance.”
The band played multiple shows at Channel 24 this week outside of the fundraiser, its first Sacramento appearance since 2019.
Phillips-Staley met the band’s lead singer, John McCrea, in Sacramento before the band was founded. She said she was there when McCrea and Greg Brown, another founding member of the band who recently died, announced the formation of Cake.
Phillips-Staley said McCrea has always been “really politically active.”
“We always really cared about justice,” Phillips-Staley said. “That was always a part of the kind of songwriting that he did and does.”
McCrea said he classifies the band music as “high impact, easy listening” and “inadvertently political.”
“Living, breathing air is political,” he said.
John Ruffner, 43, came to watch the band play and said he supported Vang. He said he was “stoked” to watch them perform and has been a fan of the band for a while, especially being friends with McCrea’s brother.
Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who represented New York’s 16th District, came from New York to support both Vang and Phillips-Staley and said he was excited to see the crowd excited about democracy.
“It’s just a vital, vital, vital time in our country, and we need fighters and champions and real progressives in Congress, and right now, we don’t have that many,” Bowman said.
Workers and volunteers for Vang’s campaign wore signs bearing the slogans “Change takes courage” and “The People Power Club.”
Volunteer Suzy Goldenkranz, 39, said Vang is “mission-driven, kindest, and the most sincere.” She started volunteering for Vang’s campaign last summer as soon as it was announced.
“I think that Mai is an incredibly dynamic candidate and would represent us great in Washington, D.C.,” Goldenkranz said.
Vang said that her and Phillips-Staley’s values were strongly aligned, calling Phillips-Staley her “sister” and saying that she was proud to see her campaign.
“This moment is more than just about two congressional races,” Vang said. “It is about the future of this country.”
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Camryn Dadey is The Sacramento Bee’s Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova watchdog reporter. She is a 2022 graduate of Sacramento State.