Shows in Paradise, Visalia, Lodi, Merced, Fairfield & more!

Tickets and info here CashTribute.net/Tour

Saturday, April 13, 7:30 p.m.
Camp Fire Benefit Concert for
Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family
Paradise Performing Arts Center
Paradise, CA

Saturday, May 4, 7:30 p.m.
Visalia Fox Theatre
Visalia, CA

Saturday, May 18, 8 p.m.
Hutchins Street Square
Lodi, CA
Sunday, June 2, 3 p.m.
Private Engagement
Brentwood, CA

Wednesday, June 5, 8:30 p.m.
Merced County Fair
Merced, CA

Saturday, June 8, 8 p.m.
Downtown Theatre
Fairfield, CA

Sunday, June 9, 3 p.m.
Downtown Theatre
Fairfield, CA

Thursday, June 13, 6 p.m.
Private Engagement
Sacramento, CA

Saturday, June 15
Private Engagement
Gustine, CA

Saturday, June 22, 7 p.m.
Arcadia Performing Arts Center
Arcadia, CA

Sunday, June 30, 8 p.m.
Alameda County Fair
Pleasanton, CA

Saturday, July 6
Private Engagement
Newport Beach, CA

Saturday, July 27
Private Engagement
Salinas, CA

James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash returns to Paradise for special concert benefiting Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family

The signature boom-chicka-boom sound of Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three will fill the Paradise Performing Arts Center when James Garner’s critically acclaimed tribute to the “Man in Black” performs on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds from the show will benefit Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family, a group dedicated to directing resources and assistance to victims of the Camp Fire.

“We’ve played in Paradise twice over the years,” Garner said. “We love the people and town of Paradise, and we wanted to do something to support the community. We organized this benefit concert on short notice and hope that folks will come out for a great cause.”

Upon learning that the Paradise Performing Arts Center survived the devasting Camp Fire, Garner went to work to organize a show with the hopes of raising funds that would be directed to individuals.

“I called the theatre, told them I wanted to rent it, and give all the proceeds to a charity that is helping people on the ground,” Garner said. “I asked the theatre manager for recommendations for organizations that were providing assistance to fire victims. He provided me a few names and also said that he lost his home in the fire.”

One of the organizations recommended was Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family, a grassroot movement of families dedicated to helping families, organized by Eric and Heather Lofholm of Rocklin, California. After doing some research, Garner called Lofholm and shared his benefit concert idea with him.

“Eric talked about the work Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family has been doing to support fire victims, including their partnership with Global Empowerment Mission,” Garner said.

Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family partnered with the Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to provide direct assistance to those in need. Since the partnership, GEM and Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family have delivered three full-size trucks of aid to six American Red Cross Shelters and various churches and tent cities. The group has also personally distributed more than 2,200 cash cards – totaling $80,000 – to fire victims.

“I was moved by how just two people who wanted to help can make a big difference,” Garner said. “We want to support that effort and hope the concert can be a vehicle for engaging people in the work Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family and GEM have undertaken.”

Eric and Heather Lofholm will also be in attendance at the April 13 concert in Paradise, hoping to meet many of the people that have supported the organization.

“They organized Paradise Fire Adopt-A-Family Facebook page, an online community of nearly 33,000 people, after the fire,” Garner said. “It’s a place where victims and those who want to help can connect for resources, share their stories and provide encouragement. I know Eric and Heather want to meet as many of the group’s supporters in person at the concert.”

Concertgoers can expect to hear familiar Cash favorites, including songs from the historic Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison album recorded behind prison walls 51 years ago on January 13, 1968.

In 2008, Garner’s show made a special appearance at Folsom State Prison to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Cash’s infamous live album. Gene Beley, one of two reporters covering the historic 1968 Folsom Prison concert as part of Cash’s entourage, has also attended several of Garner’s Johnny Cash tribute shows.

“Garner and his band give concertgoers their money’s worth,” said Beley. “This act will not disappoint the people who wish to resurrect that classic Johnny Cash voice and rhythm.”

In addition to the music, Garner is well-known for his unique story telling about Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three, and the important music they created, particularly at Folsom Prison.

“I first heard At Folsom Prison when I was in junior high, 25 years after its original release,” Garner said. “I imagine my reaction was the same as those who heard it in ’68. It was raw, in your face, and real. It didn’t have the polish of a studio recording. It was rough around the edges, fortifying its authenticity.”

For Garner, the love of Johnny Cash music started at an early age.

“I was 12 years old when I heard my first Johnny Cash song,” Garner said. “It was ‘Don’t Take Your Guns to Town’ and I was hooked. A few years later, I saw him in concert and got to meet him backstage following the show. Shaking hands with Johnny Cash is still one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.”

A quarter of a century following that meeting with Cash, Garner continues to pay tribute to his musical hero. Backing him is his long time Boom-Chicka-Boom band, a talented group of musicians from northern California. Rick Duncan and Nick Auriemmo of Lodi play bass and drums respectively, while Denny Colleret of Vacaville picks guitar.

In addition to playing shows across the country, Garner’s group has released three full-length albums, making them the most recorded and published Johnny Cash tribute show in the nation.

Tickets for James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash at the Paradise Performing Arts Center are $30 and can be purchased online here.

Paradise Fire-Adopt-A-Family’s mission is to provide a place where families who lost their homes or were affected by the Paradise Fire can find the help they need to recover. Visit www.ParadiseFireAdoptAFamily.com or Facebook.com/Groups/ParadiseFireAdoptAFamily to learn more about its work.

Global Empowerment Mission is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2011. The near-term goal of the organization is to empower people struck with tragedy by providing emergency aid, cash cards, food and housing. Visit www.GlobalEmpowermentMission.orgto learn more.