“If you missed the opportunity to see Johnny Cash perform live before he passed, seeing the Cash Prophets is the next best thing,” said Cash Prophets manager and longtime friend Michael Perry.

Cash Prophets at the East Gate of Folsom Prison. (Image by: Michael Perry) Cash fans throughout Sacramento can soon make their own judgements, as the Cash Prophets will be returning for their fourth performance at Blue Lamp at 1400 Alhambra Blvd. Saturday

The Cash Prophets is a tribute band to famed American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. The three-piece band is made of father Bobby Dickson, lead singer and rhythm guitar, and his two sons, Nate Dickson, upright bass, and Bobby Dickson Jr., guitar.

Perry, a big fan of Johnny Cash, said he met the band members three years ago, just after their first performance at Blue Lamp. On the suggestion of a friend, he went to see them perform and said, “They gave me goosebumps.”

Bobby Dickson said he’d been playing music for a long time and was part of another band before, called Dead Billys. He went on to explain that during that time, both his sons, about 10 and 11 at the time, would always jump on the instruments and have since, become great players.

When Dead Billys broke up, Bobby Dickson said Cash Prophets formed some time after by chance.

“We’d always played together, but never on a professional level,” he said, “We would always be jamming together, and one night we decided to do an open mic night where we played some Cash songs and were really well-received. It just kind of took off from there.”

Since then, the Cash Prophets have played in a number of different venues, including one where Johnny Cash himself both performed and recorded, Folsom Prison.

Bobby Dickson Sr. playing an acoustic jam where Johnny Cash once stood. (Image by: Michael Perry) Just last summer, the Cash Prophets performed live for the staff and prisoners inside the walls of both Folsom and California State Prison Sacramento.

“It was a very humbling experience,” Bobby Dickson said.

When asked about why Johnny Cash and why Cash Prophets, he responded, “Honestly, I had no idea I sounded like Johnny Cash until people started telling me so, but I think I’ve lived my life pretty close to the way he did.... When it came time to pick a name, we wanted one true to what we sounded like, and since we always described ourselves as preaching the gospel according to Johnny Cash, Cash Prophets made complete sense.”

Doors open at 8:30 p.m. The Cash Prophets will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday and entry will be $8.

There will also be performances by Vintage Vandals and the Refuzniks.

For more information, visit the Cash Prophets’ page here.