Folsom Prison Blues

Arrangers
MARKUS ILLKO
JANET ROBIN
ROBER LUIS
TOMMY EMMANUEL
JOHN CARTER CASH
MODERATED BY JOHN BEVILACQUA (Manager)

Screening Link available upon Registration

YouTube Live Stream Q&A

Tuesday, January 2, 6:30PM (PT)

Join our panelists in discussing the process of recording the Grammy®-nominated single “Folsom Prison Blues”, as an instrumental at Cash Cabin, with The String Revolution band members and producer John Carter Cash. “Folsom Prison Blues” is nominated for Best Arrangement Instrumental or A Cappella in the upcoming Grammy® awards. They will be discussing the process of arrangement, the studio session with Tommy Emmanuel and John Carter Cash, and the instrumentation used.

The String Revolution (Janet Robin, Markus Illko, & Rober Luis) is an innovative and dynamic guitar band that pushes the boundaries of traditional music. Composed of three virtuoso guitarists, they are renowned for their electrifying performances, blending different genres and styles to create a unique and captivating sound. Their intricate melodies, mesmerizing harmonies, and astonishing guitar skills have earned them a dedicated following and critical acclaim worldwide. The band includes former Randy Rhoads student Janet Robin (named in the “Top 50 Acoustic Guitarist bonus list” by Guitar Player Magazine, 2017), who is also an acclaimed touring guitarist with the likes of Lindsey Buckingham, Meredith Brooks, Air Supply, and many more, award-winning Austrian nylon-string guitarist Markus Illko, and Cuban multi-credited guitarist Rober Luis.

They released their first EP Stringborn in 2016 to rave reviews and jam-packed shows, and their newest CD, Red Drops was released in 2019. Both records were mixed and mastered in London by producer/engineer Matt Hyde, known for his production and engineering work with guitarists, Rodrigo y Gabriela as well as for engineering and mixing Slipknot’s Grammy®-nominated albums. The String Revolution’s cover version of “Billie Jean” reached the Top 10 Spotify LA Instrumental Charts and their songs on Spotify have reached over 4 Million plays in total. In 2022, they teamed up with longtime Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens to record a very unique acoustic version of the Ozzy Osbourne & Randy Rhoads classic, “Crazy Train.,” including a special animated video. The result garnered quite a good amount of complimentary press and more excitement over the band. That led them to music industry icon, Miles Copeland, who along with biz partner John Bevilacqua became their managers. That led to a signing with Jerry Ross’s Harmony Agency and the band has risen to touring to perform in PAC’s and state fairs.

In 2023, the band got together to arrange another iconic song. This time it was “Folsom Prison Blues.” They tapped Grammy® winning producer (and Johnny Cash’s son), John Carter Cash to produce the song, which upon hearing the demo and idea to re-imagine his Dad’s song into a guitar instrumental, was excited to be a part of this project. The band then decided to have another special guest again. This time, they teamed up with Grammy® nominated guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel to join in as a featured guitarist on the new arrangement of “Folsom Prison Blues.” The result of this pairing has the guitar and music community praising the combination of these guitar forces and the detailed production. “Folsom Prison Blues” is nominated for a 2024 Grammy® for “Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.” Mixing was again done by Grammy® winner Matthew Hyde and mastering was by Grammy® winner Emerson Mancini in Los Angeles, CA.

Tommy Emmanuel brings real-time exuberance to every note of every song he plays, which makes the music he plays palpable and infectious. “Music is the medicine of the soul,” wrote Plato. “It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, joy to sadness, and life to everything.”
Remarkably, Plato recognized this truth somehow more than 2000 years before Tommy Emmanuel was even born, but it could have been written about him. His fans are in love with his unbound talent as a guitarist of multitudes, his ability to play three parts at once, always with pure heart and real soul. He is a true virtuoso. But he seems as delighted always with the magic of the music as the audience, if not more, and his joy illuminates everything.

It’s one thing to play these multi-dimensional arrangements flawlessly on an acoustic guitar. But to do it with that smile of the ages, that evidence of authentic, unbridled delight, is an irresistibly infectious invitation to feel his music as deeply as he does. “The joy, ” he says, “is there always because I’m chasing it through music. Seeing the surprise in peoples’ eyes is worth living and working for… I can’t help but play to the people with all my heart, which is overflowing with joy of being in that moment that I’ve worked all my life for. And here it is!”

That authentic exuberance Tommy brings to every show and every record is especially powerful, given the profound deficit of real joy in so many lives. Tommy’s happiness, like his music, is pure and expressed in real time. Nothing is phony. It’s a quality that does reach far beyond any one language, and it’s instantly understood by all his fellow humans. It’s the reason he smiles so much while playing, and why his audience does as well. As many have said, it’s hard not to be happy at his shows. Because his joy, and the timeless river of inspiration, which is the source, is universally recognized. And it feels good.

John Carter Cash has been involved in music all his life
and is an accomplished and award-winning record
producer, music video and film producer, writer, and director. Also a singer-songwriter and author, his works within the creative world reach far beyond just music production. The grandson of Maybelle Carter and the only child from the marriage of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, he preserves the family legacy.

He began his walk as a music producer with his mother June Carter Cash on her CD, Press On, which won a Grammy® in 1999. He then went on to work with Rick Rubin as Associate Producer on his father Johnny Cash’s Grammy®-winning records American III: Solitary Man and American IV: The Man Comes Around, the latter receiving three CMA awards. He also produced his mother’s record Wildwood Flower, which won a Grammy® for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2003. His 2004 production Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family received three Grammy® nominations. John Carter is co-producer on Marty Stuart’s album, Badlands. His production on Billy Joe Shaver’s Everybody’s Brother, helped earn a Grammy® nomination in 2007. He has worked extensively with Loretta Lynn since 2008, co-producing over one hundred songs for the country legend. Loretta’s 2016 release Full Circle received immense critical acclaim. John Carter has produced hundreds of recordings for dozens of artists within the past twenty years, including Dr. Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello, Jamey Johnson, Chris Cornell, George Jones, Dailey and Vincent, Mavis Staples, Brooks & Dunn, Lynda Carter, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Sheryl Crow, John Randal and Jessi Alexander, Josh Turner, Kris Kristofferson, Normanand Nancy Blake, Jewel, Tim O’ Brien, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Wylie and the Wild West, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Earl and Randy Scruggs, Rosanne Cash, John Cowan, Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Tony Rice, and John Prine. In total, he has been a producer on five Grammy® Award winning records. John Carter’s first music album titled Bitter Harvest, was released in 2003. His 2010 album The Family Secret received a three-starred review in Rolling Stone. His album, We Must Believe in Magic was released in the spring of 2017. The Cash Collective, a band project album with guitarist Justin Johnson called Hey Crow! was released in 2020.

He is the author of three children’s books, Momma Loves Her Little Son, Daddy Loves His Little Girl, and, The Cat in the Rhinestone Suit. He wrote his mother’s biography, Anchored in Love and House of Cash: The Legacies of My Father Johnny Cash on his personal relationship with his father. His first novel, a fantasy titled Lupus Rex, was released in June of 2013. He is also the author of The Cash and Carter Family Cookbook.

He owns and operates Cash Cabin Enterprises, LLC in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and does most of his music production work in the Cash Cabin Studio, the same studio where his father recorded hundreds of songs, years ago.

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Attendees will be emailed a Screening Link upon Registration and a Q&A YouTube Live Stream link on Tuesday, January 2, 10 minutes before Q&A start.

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