Shawn Barker brings the late Johnny Cash’s legendary persona to life with his
tribute performances, capturing the essence of one of the greatest and most beloved music icons in history.
Performing more than 1,000 shows, Barker, 51, embodies the physical characteristics and spirit of singer-songwriter Johnny Cash across various locations worldwide, including Australia, Europe, Canada, and the United States.
During his show Barker brings an expression of his to the audience through every stage of Cash’s life and musical journey.
Barker was born and raised in St. Louis, Mo., and resides now in Missouri and Las Vegas.
During his childhood, he found himself singing alongside friends and family at his church. He later served in the Army for a little over two years.
When he arrived home in Missouri, Barker took on a job as a carpenter and worked on his guitar and voice-strengthening skills in his free time.
He had originally auditioned for Elvis Presley in a Broadway musical ““Million Dollar Quartet” in 2004. After submitting his tape, the director, Floyd Mutrux, asked him to audition for Johnny Cash in the same Broadway show because he fit the role better
“They called me right back to fly out to Los Angeles and be Johnny Cash.” He fit the role so well that he went on to work on his own performance, and he never ended up being a part of the Broadway show because of how busy he became. Barker’s once hobby turned into his full-time career.
“The most fulfilling thing [about performing] are the fans. In those 90 minutes, watching people lose themselves and having the ability to transport people from their lives whether it’s mundane or maybe some problems. For those two hours watching the fans disappear and be in the moment is a really satisfying thing to do” Barker said.
Barker has now sold more than a million tickets in his career throughout 12 countries as he performs The Man in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash. “It’s obviously a Johnny Cash show, we get to go through his entire life. But even if you are not a Cash fan, we have really great musicians and the show is awesome and everyone always just has a good time,” Barker said.
The Paramount in Huntington will host Shawn Barker on Feb. 29, at 8 pm; Doors open at 7 pm.
“[The Paramount] is a super super cool venue… I don’t think there is a bad seat in the entire place and it’s got a very neat history,” Barker said.