Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience

By Mark Stielper

Johnny Cash is one of the most titanic figures in the history of American song. In a renowned and storied career that spanned six decades, he earned a singular place in the hearts, minds and souls of his public. Born in rural Arkansas in the middle of the Great Depression, he has been inducted into practically every hall that honors fame and accomplishment, including the Country Music, Rock and Roll, Gospel Music, Songwriters and even the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Country Music Television named him the Greatest Man in Country Music.

Twenty years after his death, the Man in Black continues to awe and inspire. Now, a unique, larger-than-life event brings Johnny’s formidable legacy to performing arts theaters across the U.S. and Canada once again, thrilling long-time fans who were privileged to have seen him live in concert in his glory days, and mesmerizing those who could only wish they had done so.

Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience is a big screen, multi-media tour de force that takes his greatest performances from the iconic Johnny Cash Television Show, when he was at the peak of his commercial prowess, and accompanies them with a live band and singers, who fill the auditorium with the famous boom-chicka-boom sound that defined Cash from his earliest days as a rockabilly idol at Sun Records in Memphis. Classic songs like “I Walk the Line,” “Ring of Fire” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” along with 35 others, dazzle the audience and leave all spellbound, bringing them as close as possible to the real thing.  Many of the venues being visited on this 100-city tour are theaters where Johnny himself played, making for a historic and poignant celebration of “America’s most enduring musical conscience.”

The band playing live in person alongside Johnny was selected after rigorous auditions in several cities, including Nashville and New York. These talented musicians recreate the sound of the famous Tennessee Three, who backed Johnny in concerts and on his biggest hits. The guitarists, bassist, drummer and three singers also perform on their own, offering their own versions of Cash hits, as well as those by his renowned musical troupe, the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins and Johnny’s wife and singing partner, June Carter Cash.

For the lead guitar player, the Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience is a homecoming. Debbie Horton holds the distinction of being the only woman ever to play lead guitar for Johnny Cash himself. Johnny had heard of the teenage girl who served as the Virginia state head of his fan club, and of her mastery of his music. At a show in Owings Mills, Maryland, he called her up on stage, where she did a flawless turn with him on “Big River.” She says playing for her hero was a highlight of her life and career. “Now, I am playing for him again.” And, yes, “Big River” is in the setlist.

The archival footage of Johnny, including clips from the mythical “”Ride This Train” segment of the TV show, where he gained his reputation as a social commentator, activist and advocate for “the poor and beaten down,” shows him on the stage of Nashville’s fabled Ryman Auditorium.  Narrating the program is Johnny’s son, John Carter Cash, who provides on-screen commentary and insight into his father’s great life. This is truly an “unbroken circle” moment, as John Carter made his own TV debut on that stage, at age nine months, during his father’s show. “My dad was of the American soil, and through his music, he shared stories from his own life that resonated with people from every walk of life,” John Carter says.  “The TV show was a powerful testament to who my father was. This brand new concert experience brings his music back to fans all over the world in a sensational way.”

John Carter’s personal insights and stories serve as a reminder of his father’s towering cultural presence. Johnny was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honor, United Nations Humanitarian Award, Library of Congress Living Legend Medal and Grammy Legend Award. In 2024, a statue of Johnny Cash will be placed among the hallowed Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C., making him the only musician to receive this distinction.

Award-winning director Dean Elliott (Buddy: The Musical, The Simon and Garfunkel Story, Graceland Live) combines state-of the art audio and video, modern technology and sophisticated  graphics to produce magical moments that are “immersive, immediate and impactful.” He says that this event pays tribute to the enduring greatness of one of the world’s pre-eminent musical figures. “Cash’s music is rooted in honesty, compassion, continuity and family. It is real. Every person who attends this concert is touched in some profound way by his spirit, humanity and, of course, by the unforgettable music.”

Tickets are available at www.JohnnyCashConcertExperience.com.

Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience is produced by GEAlive, Quatro Entertainment, Maple Tree Entertainment, The Estate of Johnny Cash, John Carter Cash, and Sandbox Succession. The tour runs through Spring 2024.