“We try to spend more time with our family and loved ones,” the singer said. “It has nothing to do with the show, but it has everything to do with life in general. Every show I do is a blessing. I try not to take anything for granted at this point.

Forness specializes in recreating the music of Johnny Cash.

“During the pandemic, so many places have closed,” he said. “There was so much desperation. The music was really hit hard. People couldn’t see live music. So now I see this fever for live music and I see it everywhere. My Johnny Cash show is no exception to this.

Forness will return to central Nebraska for a performance with Melinda Feree titled “Cash & Cline” at 3 p.m. on August 6 at the Minden Opera House in Minden. Tickets are $20.

Forness will cover songs by Johnny Cash and Feree will perform music by Patsy Cline.

“She’s fantastic,” Forness said of Feree. “Melinda does most of the Patsy Cline hits and we’ll do some of the Johnny Cash and June Carter duets. In terms of my set, I’m going to touch on a bit of Johnny Cash material from the 1950s, the music of his prison-era stuff, some southern gospel music, and like I said, some duets that Johnny did with June Carter.

Forness will perform without his traveling band.

“They’re not traveling with me and haven’t been traveling with me since COVID happened,” he said. “But I recorded my bass player and several different electric guitar players, so I have that old Johnny Cash trio sound. And there will be a lot of storytelling. I always like to put stories about Johnny Cash’s life and his songs .

More than ever, the singer believes audiences are still connected to Cash’s music.

He said. “In September, I was on the road for two years in a row. I sold my house in the St. Louis area and moved into an RV. We have been traveling since. Visiting Nebraska will be state number 18 and we are currently on a 12 state run. We left Florida in May and went to Georgia, then to South Carolina and into the mountains of North Carolina. We even got people from West Virginia, people who like the old Johnny Cash sound.

Forness has performed in Ohio and Illinois and will continue in Missouri, Kansas and finally Nebraska.

“Maybe our cages shook a bit,” he said of the pent-up demand for music. “It did it for me. During the pandemic, I lost a few loved ones.

Forness believes Cash’s music continues to influence the lives of audience members.

“His music has touched a lot of people from different walks of life,” he said. “I also learned that his music has a ‘human’ element to it and that’s why it lasts so long. It still amazes me that Cash released a hit record in 2002 and then died in 2003. He was 70, sang songs and recorded music. I think with someone like Cash it’s more about the lyrics and the soul of the song. He was a soul singer.”

Forness compares Cash to people like Carl Perkins, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty – artists who used a lot of soul in their music.

“They were raised with gospel roots,” Forness said. “They just grabbed a flash of rock ‘n’ roll and off they went. Some of it branched off into country, but there’s just that amount of “soul” in the music, a human element that continues to this day. I’m 48 now and this music isn’t harder to play. In fact, the more I do it, the better I get at it. The more I immerse myself in her music and the older I get, the more I understand her. I hope that when I’m 60 or 70 I can still do his later work and have a new perspective.

After 13 years performing the music of the legend who sang ‘I Walk the Line’, ‘Ring of Fire’ and ‘Man in Black’, Forness feels blessed to continue exploring Cash’s music.