Johnny Cash tribute kicks off Hempfield Park summer concert series

May 26—Fans of the legendary Man in Black are in for a treat, as The Cash Out Show takes the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday in Hempfield Park.

The tribute to Johnny Cash will kick off the "Amp Up Your Summer" concert series hosted by Hempfield Township Parks & Recreation.

The free concerts will take place on 10 weekends through Sept. 16 at the Smail Auto Group Amphitheater in the park at 220 Forbes Trail Road.

Fronted by guitarist and singer Shawn Fogle, The Cash Out Show specializes in faithful renditions of songs from Cash's early country/rockabilly days to his late-career, modern rock covers.

The group has been together for about seven years, Fogle said, and each year's tour takes its name from a different Cash song. This year, it's "Ain't No Grave," a song from Cash's posthumous 2010 album, "American VI."

"He was about 71, recording it very close to his death, so it's one of those things dear to our heart," Fogle said.

The band's set will cover Cash's career from 1955 to 2003, when he died.

"You'll get a wide range of everything he did from when he started in Memphis, Tenn., with songs like 'Walk the Line' and 'Ring of Fire,' all the way to some of those lonely, sad and downtrodden songs at the end," Fogle said.

Now based in Western Pennsylvania, Cash Out Show members hail from Connellsville, Ligonier, Detroit and Washington, D.C. The group also features Angela Poole portraying Cash's wife and singing partner, the late June Carter Cash.

"We perform back and forth and do a little bit of bickering, just like Johnny and June," Fogle said.

Versatile experience

Some of the featured bands are frequent participants in the annual series, some appear every couple of years and others are new this year, Parks & Rec Director Marissa Haynes said.

"We try to get a variety of local acts with diversified types of music, for the most versatile experience for the whole community," she said.

Along with The Cash Out Show, new acts this year include Big Fat Jazz, a 20-member community band based in Springdale. The group has a repertoire of classic and contemporary jazz, swing, blues and Latin numbers, from Stan Kenton to Brian Setzer.

Big Fat Jazz has the second slot in the series, at 7 p.m. June 3.

The lineup also includes:

—June 18: Chuck Blasko and The Vogues, 2 p.m. (oldies vocal quartet)

—July 1: Tim Schmider, 6 p.m. (acoustic country); Part Time Cowboys, 7 p.m.

—July 15: Jane West, 6 p.m. (acoustic guitarist/vocalist); Habatat, 7 p.m. (funk rock)

—July 29: The Andy Davis Band, 7 p.m. (country rock)

—Aug. 12: Flying Blind, 7 p.m. (rock)

—Aug. 26: Pendulum, 7 p.m. (Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute)

—Sept. 2: Saddle Up, 7 p.m. (country rock)

—Sept. 16: The Shiners, 6 p.m.; East Coast Turnaround, 7 p.m. (Southern rock)

A food truck will be on site for each concert, with each one scheduled from one to three times throughout the summer.

"Similarly to the music, we're trying to bring out the whole gamut of food experiences," Haynes said.

Participating food trucks include Benvenuti Pizza Factory, Billu's Indian Grill, Rescue Dogs (hot dogs and fries), Earth Wheel & Fire (pizza), Steel City Chimneys (Eastern European chimney cakes) and Pit Take BBQ.

Haynes said attendees should bring their own seating and also can bring their own food and beverages. No glass bottles are allowed in the park.

Dogs are welcome, as long as they are on a leash.

The concerts will go on, rain or shine. In the event of a cancellation, the news would be posted on the department's social media pages.

"It would have to be hurricane-level for us to cancel," Haynes noted.

More information about the series is available at hempfieldtwp.com.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .