Johnny Cash Tribute Show ‘The Folsom Prison Experience’ Set for August 8 Performance

Jay Ernest will bring the Folsom Prison Experience – A Johnny Cash Dramatic Tribute Show to the Miller Theater on Aug. 8. The show recreates the country singer's January 1968 concert at Folsom State Prison in California.

Patrons get a prison number when they enter. Guards patrol the aisles during the show. Ernest describes it as immersive rather than interactive because audience members won't be brought on stage. But they can still feel part of the concert.

"You can come as you are, but if you want to have a little extra fun with it, audiences have dressed up like inmates. Think 'Shawshank Redemption', they were allotted denim pants and a denim shirt. Some people wear orange or the stripes. It's not mandatory, but some people like to dress up," said Ernest, per  Augusta Good News.

Ernest grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, where his father played Cash's songs. He's played everything from country to reggae but zeroed in on the music while living in Hawaii 15 years ago. At the time, he was part of a reggae and soul band, and when the group wasn't touring, he found himself playing four-hour acoustic sets in an Irish bar in Chinatown in downtown Honolulu.

Ernest and a friend tossed around the idea of creating the Folsom Experience. When COVID hit, they found the time to research and put together the show. "The whole thing is based on the real-life show. We have taken some artistic liberties to create some scenarios," he said.

Tickets run from $27.40 to $64.65.