JOHNNY CASH CONCERT CANCELED; TICKET SALES CITED

A rally with patriotic speeches, a veterans parade and a concert starring Johnny Cash has been canceled because fewer than 100 people bought tickets, a promoter said Friday.

“Johnny is not coming, and the dignitaries have been contacted and asked to cancel all their flights,” said Randy Mathenia, a spokesman for Show Time Productions Inc. of Jackson, Tenn.

The rally had been set for today at Mud Island Amphitheater, which seats 5,000, but fewer than 100 tickets were sold at $12.50 a pop by Thursday afternoon.

“We didn’t feel that 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000 people would march up on the day of the concert,” Mathenia said.

Promoters had originally planned a 10-city tour of flag-waving rallies and musical shows called the Johnny Cash Freedom Train, and the canceled concert was the main surviving event.

Mathenia said planned shows in Baltimore and Pittsburgh were in jeopardy.