Anyone remember Jason and the Scorchers burning up the Decade back in the '80s? The 15th AmeriServ Johnstown FolkFest will be a chance to see if the seminal cow-punk band can still rock that hard.

The show will mark its first performance in North America outside of Nashville in five years. The band is led by Jason Ringenberg, once rightly called "a hayseed Iggy Pop." He's joined by guitarist Warren Hodges (who plays with former Georgia Satellite Dan Baird in a band called Homemade Sin). It's filled out by a new rhythm section of drummer Fenner Castner and bassist Al Collins.

By forging a sound that was Hank Williams meets Bob Dylan meets the Sex Pistols, the Scorchers assured that their sound would hold up over the years.

"I know a lot of bands from the '80s that sold a heck of a lot more records than we ever did, many times more, but they don't seem to have the staying power or the sort of lasting impact that we have," Ringenberg told The Birmingham News.

"I still meet young bands that say, "We listen to you guys all the time, and you're a big reason why we're doing what we're doing.' It's the same thing I said when I met Bob Dylan, and that's quite an honor."

Second in command at the festival is Del Castillo, an Austin band that brings a Latin groove to its roots-rock. Rolling Stone wrote of brothers Rick and Mark Del Castillo that their "eruptions of technique and taste conjure images of Eddie Van Halen fronting early Santana [with an assist from the Gipsy Kings]."

Another highlight is Webb Wilder & the Beatnecks, which Billboard called "part Georgia Satellites, part Dave Edmonds, part Elvis Costello and altogether wonderful."

Also on the bill are folk master Tom Russell, Amy LaVere, Shannon Whitworth, Jordan Valentine & the Sunday Saints (formerly World's Greatest Sinners), Big Sam's Funky Nation, Jason Ricci & New Blood, Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics -- Deke and Barrence Whitfield.

Admission is free. Festival hours are 5 p.m.-11:30 p.m. Friday; noon-midnight Saturday; and noon-11:30 p.m. Sunday. For details, go to www.johnstownfolkfest.org.