“Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.”

You won’t be hearing that famous phrase out of Merle Peterson’s mouth when he takes the stage with his tribute band Cold Hard Cash at 6 p.m. on Friday evening, June 27, to kick off the Mount Helena Music Festival.

It’s a small thing that Peterson insists on in deference to the Man in Black, which hints at his philosophy about performing as the late, great musician.

But minus that little phrase and Peterson’s imperfect resemblence, you might feel as though you’re in the presence of the man himself.

“I guess I noticed I had a knack for it when I was in high school,” says Peterson, who created Cold Hard Cash in 2004, but has been doing Johnny Cash tunes since he was a teenager.

“I’ve always been a fan because my father listened to the music,” he explains.

Originally, Peterson thought he wanted to pursue music himself. As part of his act, he’d always perform a few of Cash’s songs — inevitably, they always recieved the best response.

“That was kinda my ace in the hole, I guess,” says Peterson. “People liked hearing me do that better than anything.”

When Cash passed away in 2003, Peterson stopped singing his songs for a while out of respect. But when he heard that a movie was in the making and got tuned in to the renewed hype about Cash, he decided to take his act to a new level.

Singing Cash’s music might’ve come naturally for Peterson, but that wasn’t enough; he wanted to do the man justice.

“I wanted to find a way to do it with dignity and respect,” says Peterson, who “got ahold of every live concert DVD I could get,” read several books about Cash and watched all 58 episodes of “The Johnny Cash Show.”

“He was really an edgy sort of rock star, which was a surprise to me,” says Peterson, who speculates that part of that “edge” had to do with the fact that Cash was often high on amphetamines.

Luckily, Peterson says he’s just naturally nervous, which helps him to create the right vibe.

“A couplea energy drinks and I’m usually right there,” he joked.

And then there was mastering Cash’s music, which Peterson meticulously deconstruced with the help of his bass player, Jeff Carroll.

“It’s structurally simple, but getting that rhythm and that feel,” says Peterson. “It’s a groove. It’s something that we’re really true to, but it took a lot of work.”

Through his research, Peterson put together a complex picture of Cash and determined that Kris Kristofferson was right on when he called Cash “a walking, talking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.”

“He created his own myth around himself,” says Peterson. “I guess it sold records.”

Having that understanding — that Cash was just “playing” Cash, too — gave Peterson the confidence to perform as the star without feeling like such an “invader,” he says.

“I respect him so much,” says Peterson. “I did not ever want to be like these cheese balls up there, doing these impersonations.”

Peterson says he’s glad things have worked out the way they have as far as his career in music is concerned.

“It’s the thrill of my life to get up there and do this stuff, but I also enjoy my normal life,” says Peterson, who performs on weekends with Cold Hard Cash and is a Great Falls teacher by day.

Because as much as he reveres Cash, there are a few important ways in which he would rather not emulate the singer. Peterson has a 2-year-old son and says he doesn’t plan to put anything else before that, as Cash did with music and drugs.

“It really hurt his family and it really hurt his kids,” Peterson says. “I guess that was the real wake up call.”

Peterson’s Friday evening set will include Cash favorites such as “Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire.”

Cold Hard Cash will be followed by California soul and gospel singer E.C. Scott; then blues piano man Henry Miller.

The festival starts up again at noon on Saturday with Mike Bader, the Warsaw Poland Brothers, Saul Kaye, The Insomniacs, Nick Vigarino and headliner, The Noveaux Honkies.

Mount Helena Music Festival in Women’s Park, June 27-28

Friday, June 27

6 p.m. Cold Hard Cash

7:30 p.m. E.C. Scott

9 p.m. Henry Butlet

Saturday, June 28

12 p.m. Mike Bader

3 p.m. Warsaw Poland Bros.

4:30 p.m. Saul Kaye

6 p.m. The Insomniacs

7:30 p.m. Nick Vigarino

9 p.m. The Nouveaux Honkies

Info: www.downtownhelena.com