Folsom’s Harris Center for the Arts presents two exciting new shows this month in which ticket sales are now underway. Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience takes the stage on Thursday and Friday, January 18 and 19, at 7:30pm; and Step Afrika! on Sunday, January 21, at 7:30pm.
Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience
Bringing songs and stories from the “Man in Black” to the stage in a way that audiences haven’t seen or heard before. With video of Johnny from episodes of The Johnny Cash TV Show projected on a screen above the stage, a live band and singers will accompany him in perfect sync. This concert experience will showcase iconic performances from the TV show and highlight the spirit of the legend by revisiting some of his memorable words and anecdotes. Cash will perform some of his biggest hits, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Ring of Fire,” and “I Walk the Line,” and share stories of people he met along the way whose causes he championed – the working man from all walks of life. Plus, onstage male and female singers will split vocal duties performing their own takes on Cash hits. The music never stops in this concert event.
Johnny Cash is one of the most important, influential, and respected artists in the history of recorded music. From the monumental live prison albums to his extraordinary series of commentaries on the American spirit and human condition to a mesmerizing canon of gospel recordings to his remarkable and unprecedented late-life artistic triumphs of will and wisdom, his impact on our culture is profound and continuing.
John R. Cash was born into a family of Arkansas sharecroppers in the middle of the Great Depression, and that hard-scrabble life instilled in him a reverence for family, the earth, God, and truth that informed his incredible life and vision over a half-century career. After a stint in the United States Air Force, where he distinguished himself as a radio intercept operator, and less-successful efforts as an automobile factory worker and door-to-door home goods salesman, Johnny broke onto the music scene in 1955 on Memphis’ fabled Sun Records. It was here, at the “birthplace of rock and roll,” where the world was introduced to his singular voice and compelling songwriting.
Individual tickets for Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience range from $71-$115, including fees, and are on sale now at the Box Office at (916) 608-6888, or online at HarrisCenter.net. Box Office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 12:00pm-5:00pm, and one hour before showtime.
Step Afrika!
Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping—a polyrhythmic, percussive dance form that uses the body as an instrument. Under Mr. Williams’ leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s cultural exports, touring more than 50 countries across the globe. Step Afrika! is one of the top 10 African American dance companies in the world and promotes stepping as a contemporary dance genre through critically acclaimed performances and arts education programs. Creatively engaging audiences in this nascent art form, the Company creates full-length productions that expand on stepping’s unique American history.
Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities; traditional West and Southern African dances; and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling, artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding.
The Company reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through a 50-city tour of colleges and theatres and performs globally as Washington, DC’s one and only Cultural Ambassador. Step Afrika! has earned Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education (2005); Innovation in the Arts (2008); and Excellence in an Artistic Discipline (2012); and performed at the White House for President Barack Obama and the First Lady.
Step Afrika! is prominently featured at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture with an interactive exhibit on the art form of stepping.
Individual tickets for Step Afrika! range from $52-$82, including fees, and are on sale now at the Box Office at (916) 608-6888, or online atHarrisCenter.net. Box Office hours are Tuesday-Friday from 12:00pm-5:00pm, and one hour before showtime.
Right, Sean de Guzman, Manager of the California Department of Water Resources Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit, and Anthony Burdock, Water Resources Engineer in Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecast Unit, walk in the meadow during the measurement phase of the first media snow survey of the 2024 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Tuesday. Photo: Xavier Mascareñas CDWR