Three months before the release of piano-rock band Jack's Mannequin's first album, Everything in Transit, Andrew McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia.

McMahon, also the former frontman for pop-punk band Something Corporate, managed to not only fight his disease but also release two critically acclaimed albums and acquire a large following.

The cancer survivor and songwriter will bring his band Sunday to perform at Rec Hall, once a venue that hosted big-name acts on the Penn State's campus. The concert is sponsored by the Student Programming Association (SPA).

Entertainment chairwoman Claire DiGiacomo said student tickets will still be available at the HUB-Robeson Center until Friday, but the organization will sell general admission tickets at the venue if they do not sell enough student tickets.

Even though the club only sold 2,800 tickets as of Tuesday, this is one of the largest concerts SPA has ever produced, DiGiacomo said.

"It's the largest amount of students we will have attending a concert," she said.

"This concert has already sold more tickets than students we've had come to an event."

Rec Hall holds about 5,000 people and used to be the one of the premiere music venues on campus before renovations and scheduling for sporting events moved acts to other stages.

Rec Hall held concerts for Busta Rhymes and the Red Hot Chili Peppers when they performed at Penn State.

Kim Strong (sophomore-forensics) said that Jack's Mannequin is her favorite band, and she intends to make the three-hour trip from the Penn State Berks campus to attend.

Strong said she became hysterical when she heard the band was coming to Penn State.

"I completely freaked out and started screaming and jumping around the room," she said.

Emily Suor (sophomore-biology) said she was just as excited as her friend Strong was when she heard the news.

This will be her first legitimate concert, she said.

"The only concert I've ever been to was a Britney Spears concert, so I need to up my concert factor," Suor said.

Adam Pickholtz (junior-psychology) said he waited for an hour and a half to secure tickets at the HUB for Strong, Suor and himself when tickets went on sale Oct. 1.

"I had to go early in the morning and skip my first class to get the tickets," Pickholtz said.

The band's first effort, Everything in Transit, was written during a hiatus from the years of touring McMahon spent with Something Corporate. McMahon helped to produce and fund the album.

The lyrics of the album talk about a man returning home from time spent elsewhere.

The feeling of listlessness and loneliness are said to be inspired by McMahon's free time, as well as the break up with his long-time girlfriend, according to a Rolling Stone review of the band's next album, The Glass Passenger.

The Glass Passenger is the band's second and most recent album.

Released in September 2008, it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard charts.

Fans of the band point to McMahon's lyrics as highpoints to the albums.

"Definitely the lyrics ... and pretty much the story about it," Strong said.

"I really do like The Glass Passenger, but it doesn't get much better than Everything in Transit."