Band Pays Tribute to Legendary Artist

REDLANDS>> With perfect weather, line dancing in the aisles and the amazing music sounds of Johnny Cash's hits, the 2016 season of the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival continued the fun with James Garners Tribute to Johnny Cash. The show held at the Redlands Bowl Aug. 5 celebrated the life and music of the legendary music artist as lead singer James Garner portrayed Cash. Garner perfected the mannerisms of Cash, as well as each song played by Garner and his band as they took the audience on a historical walk through Cash's career. Garner and the band played classic hits such as "Ring of Fire," "I Walk the Line," and my absolute favorite song "A Boy Named Sue." Garner was accompanied by his bandmates Nick Auriemmo on the drums, Denny Colleret on the guitar and Rick Duncan on the bass. According to the tribute band’s website, the band has more than 300 professional shows to credit including theaters, festivals, showrooms and even prisons. At the Redlands Bowl, the band drew a huge crowd as every one of it's 5000 seats was filled as well as the space in the lawn and Park across the street. Garner is a personable artist on and off stage and said he and his beautiful wife, Mandy, and children, Jeff, 7, and Carly, 4, went to Disneyland before the show to have some fun. Even after a long day at the "happiest place on earth," Garner still had energy to give the audience a spectacular and memorable show. Garner became hooked on Cash’s music at an early age, getting his hands on everything Cash, according to the website. At age fourteen, Garner said he met Cash backstage after one of the singer’s shows, shaking his hand and telling him he was his “biggest fan.” Now, Garner and his band present the Man in Black’s music as fans, for fans. The production also featured personal anecdotes about the singer and storyteller America has loved for years. One of the many unknown facts that Garner told the audience was that Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter and actor, was once a janitor who would pitch songs to Cash. One of these pitches became a huge hit known as "Sunday Morning Coming Down," written by Kristofferson. Mike Morrell, state senator, attended the concert and briefly spoke about how amazing the community and the Redlands Bowl is. A special thank you to Ken and Judith Standford for sponsoring the unforgettable tribute. Judith has been a volunteer at the Redlands Bowl for more than 30 years and Ken became a volunteer after he retired seven years ago. The couple sponsor a show each year. Each show at the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival is free for all audiences and is funded entirely by donations. During the show, ushers came around to collect donations and as the kind-hearted people the Standfords are, Ken said he would match every $100 bill that was in the donations. It is the belief of City News Group, Inc. that there were several $100 bills. After the show, Garner and the band dedicated a lot of time with audience members and fans to kindly take photos and sign autographs. Colleret learned to play guitar as a kid by picking up the need on Johnny Cash records and met Cash at the screening of the stars film "A Gospel Road" in 1973. Duncan honed his bass playing technique by training at the prestigious Julliard School of Music in New York City, N.Y. He later followed it up by earning a degree at the world-renowned San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Auriemmo is a native of Long Island, N.Y. and made his way to the west coast after earning a bachelor's in music from Fredonia College and a master's at Northern Illinois University. For more information about the band, visit cashtribute.net. For more information about the 2016 season of the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival, call (909)793-7316.