Ballroom is Cashing in with anniversary show

Published 2:06 pm Monday, March 24, 2014

Johnny Cash performed in Austin in 1963. A small blurb about the show appeared in the March 29, 1963 Austin Daily Herald. Courtesy of the Mower County Historical Society

Johnny Cash performed in Austin in 1963. A small blurb about the show appeared in the March 29, 1963 Austin Daily Herald. Courtesy of the Mower County Historical Society

More than 50 years after the original Man in Black performed at The Terp Ballroom, his legend will return.

One More Round, a Johnny Cash tribute band out of St. Louis, Mo., will be playing The Old Terp, its name restored, in Austin on Saturday, just one day shy of when Cash performed in Austin on March 30, 1963.

The show is part of a larger effort by the new owners of The Old Terp and the 1910 Mexican Kitchen & Pub to bring back the days when big names and sounds filled the old ballroom.

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“Our idea with the ballroom is to try and revive it like the old days, “ said promoter and co-owner Gonzalo Cibils. “We want more family events for everybody, for the whole town.”

Planning the concert started innocently enough, without much thought of anything beyond a laugh.

“It started as a joke to try and do a tribute on the same day,” Cibils said of the upcoming show. “Eventually we started getting more involved. People told us, ‘If you do that it would be great.’”

And so it started getting more series and Cibilis finally made contact with the St. Louis act, who Cibils said didn’t hesitate.

“They were really happy to play here,” he said. “They said they like to choose venues that Johnny Cash played at.”

The group is fronted by Bill Forness as Cash.

The group The Dovetailers, which features Brandon Sampson of Six Mile Grove, will open for One More Round with more of a country style.

This is the first big gig since the new owners took over The Terp and they have big ideas to get the venue in shape including updates on the building and grounds.

“People can really feel attached to [The Terp],” Cibils said. “This is something that could be for a wide array of ages.”

“It’s going to be fun,” he said.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. The show is for 18 and above and wristbands will be sold for 21 and older. For more information call 507-434-4165.