Johnny Cash may have died long ago, but The Man in Black continues to walk the line.
The Man in Black is Shawn Barker, who乌鸦传媒 been stepping into the shoes of Johnny Cash for more than two decades as a tribute artist, and he鈥檒l be in 乌鸦传媒 later this week to share that timeless outlaw country music.
鈥淗is music still speaks to people today,鈥 Barker said. 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 a working-man乌鸦传媒 music; it reaches the blue collared people. His music was actually rather simple overall 鈥 not that it乌鸦传媒 easy to play though.鈥
While Barker physically resembles Cash (something initially pointed out by a movie director while Barker was auditioning for an Elvis Presley role), he says The Man in Black focuses most heavily on getting the sound right.
His baritone voice is backed by a five-piece band on this tour, who he describes as 鈥渟ome of the best musicians out of L.A. and Nashville.鈥
Barker also loves telling stories about Cash to his audiences. Beyond studying the man, he got to hear numerous first-hand accounts while working with W. S. 鈥淔luke鈥 Holland, who played drums for Cash.
And Barker 鈥 who lives in Branson, Missouri 鈥 has an appreciation for Canada乌鸦传媒 role in Cash乌鸦传媒 career, largely through his manager, Saul Holiff, from London, Ont. (the same city where Cash proposed on stage to his second wife, June Carter).
He figures many younger readers will be more familiar with Johnny Cash through the 2005 biopic Walk The Line with Joaquin Phoenix.
鈥淯nfortunately it wasn鈥檛 all that factual, but it乌鸦传媒 movie stuff. If (a younger reader) were really gonna want to dive into Johnny Cash I would go back and listen to his live prison albums 鈥 those are probably the best songs to get a good view into who and what Johnny Cash was really like.鈥
Barker feels like it乌鸦传媒 easy to see how deeply Johnny Cash influenced the industry.
鈥淭oday乌鸦传媒 artists continue to reference Johnny Cash 鈥 he乌鸦传媒 one of those iconic people that really changed the music.鈥
The Man in Black is playing in 乌鸦传媒 at the Revelry on Aug. 16. Tickets cost $44.50, but unfortunately you have to buy them through Ticketmaster which charges a $14.50 fee, so the total is $59.