Johnny Folsom 4 to play at Rebekah Friday

Jun. 28—GREENSBURG — Next in the DecCo 2024 Rebekah Amphitheater summer concert series is the Johnny Cash tribute band Johnny Folsom 4, whose show starts at 7 p.m. Friday.

Opening for the JF4 will be local musician/instructors Willie and Anita Feldman, along with students Leah Snow (13), Ava Lecher (15) and Ruby Brown (16), sharing their take on classic country music hits.

JF4's lead singer David Burney brings a lilting southern baritone to Cash's classic songs, hitting the mark well enough that you will wonder if Cash himself is on stage.

David Gresham fills in for Luther and Carl Perkins on the classic guitar licks, while bassist Steve Eisenstadt and drummer Randy Benefield provide the train-like driving rhythm the whole world fell in love with in the '50s, '60s and '70s.

Johnny Cash is one of the most important, influential and respected artists in the history of recorded music. From his live prison albums to his series of commentaries on the American spirit and the human condition, Cash mesmerized the world with his will and wisdom, making a profound and continuing impact on culture.

According to Wikipedia, John R. Cash was born into a family of Arkansas sharecroppers in the middle of the Great Depression. After a stint in the United States Air Force where he distinguished himself as a radio intercept operator, he became an automobile factory worker and door-to-door home goods salesman.

Cash broke onto the Memphis music scene in 1955, when the world was introduced to Cash's voice and classics like "I Walk the Line," "Big River" and "Folsom Prison Blues."

As he matured as an artist, he took his fans on adventures of the mind and soul, including "Ride This Train," a travelogue of the sights and sounds of his beloved country; "Blood, Sweat and Tears;" "Bitter Tears" and a catalog of gospel hymns from the heart.

In 1969, The Johnny Cash Show was a groundbreaking fusion of musical styles, fresh voices and enduring legends that elevated him to the pinnacle of his craft, taking him to the White House, Carnegie Hall, and even war-torn Northern Ireland where the combatants temporarily ceased their hostilities to gather in a Belfast church to hear him sing.

Friday's concert is free to the public and all are invited to bring their lawn chairs or blankets for a trip down memory lane.