Johnny Cash Celebrated in Roots and Rhythm Bus Tour

To honor what would have been his 94th birthday, Johnny Cash is being celebrated with a bus tour that will take attendees to locations that shaped the musician into the "Man in black."

JONESBORO – As a way to honor and celebrate the “man in black” ahead of what would have been his 94th birthday, Johnny Cash Boyhood Home: Historic Dyess Colony will host a Roots and Rhythm Bus Tour on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Will Reaves, director of the Boyhood Home and Southern Tenant Farmers Museum Heritage Sites at Arkansas State University, said this tour is one way to honor the contributions of Cash, who was born on Feb. 26.

The tour will begin and end at the Arkansas Welcome Center, located at 704 S. Service Rd. in West Memphis. The bus will leave at 9 a.m. and return around 7 p.m.

“We will visit Sun Studios in Memphis, where Cash began his music career,” Reaves said. “After that, we will cross back over to Arkansas and visit the Southern Tenant Farmers Museum and the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home before settling down for a relaxing evening in the village of Wilson.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to experience the cultural heritage of the Delta through the stories that the heritage sites tell.

"On the tour, you will get to enjoy some of Mama Cash's buttermilk fried chicken and a signature ‘man in black’ cocktail from the Wilson Cafe,” continued Reaves.

Following dinner, the bus will depart Wilson and travel back to the welcome center.

The ticket price to take part in this historical bus tour is $195 a person. One may secure a spot by visiting dyesscash.AState.edu/event/rhythm-and-roots-bus-tour/. Participants will receive an online confirmation after booking a spot on the tour.

“This is going to be the most unique and personal way to celebrate and commemorate the life and legacy of the ‘man in black’ for his birthday,” Reaves added.

The Boyhood Home, located at 110 Center Dr., will be open for free tours on Thursday, Feb. 26 to celebrate Cash’s birthday.