10th Annual Elvis Festival Expands in Tupelo
For more information, contact:
Debbie Brangenberg, Director
Elvis Festival / DTMSA
(662) 841-6598 debbie@tupelomainstreet.com
Tupelo’s Elvis Festival puts the “cradle of rock ’n roll” on the map as the premier location for Elvis fans and music lovers June 6th-8th in Downtown Tupelo. To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, the Tupelo Elvis Festival has expanded its activities and entertainment offerings to include free music entitled “Down on Main Street” and an acoustic showcase called “Unicel Unplugged.”
For the second year, sanctioned by Elvis Presley Enterprises, the Elvis Festival Tribute Artist Competition will be an exciting part of the Festival. The first round of competition will be held at the Lyric Theatre on Friday, June 6th. The Top Ten Finalists will go on to the final competition that will take place on Fairpark Stage on Saturday night, June 7th, which will include performances by 2007 Ultimate Tribute Artist Shawn Klush of Scranton, Pennsylvania and 2007 Tupelo Elvis Festival Ultimate Tribute Artist Brandon Bennett of Ponchatoula, Louisiana along with Sunny Burgess and the Pacers, DJ Fontana and The Sweet Inspirations.
“The impact this Competition has on the future success and growth of the Tupelo Elvis Festival is tremendous,” said Debbie Brangenberg, Executive Director of the Elvis Festival. “It is only natural that Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, be associated with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. with its 30th Anniversary search for the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist. Our hope is that we will continue this competition next year for Elvis fans and teach a new generation what a truly gifted performer he was.”
Headliners for the weekend are Friday night Crossin Dixon and Saturday night Jo Dee Messina.
Full entertainment line-up will include:
Friday, June 6th on the Fairpark Stage:
Bliss
Unicel Unplugged presents Tim Warren
Jonathan Singleton and the Grove
Unicel Unplugged presents John Milstead
Crossin Dixon
Unicel Unplugged presents Shane Rowe & Eddie Warren
Saving Abel
Friday, June 6th at the Lyric Theatre
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tupelo Ultimate Tribute Artist 1st Round Preliminary Competition
7:00 p.m. Ronnie McDowell in Concert
Saturday, June 7th on Fairpark Stage:
Elvis Tribute Artist Finals
Sunny Burgess and The Pacers
2007 Tupelo Elvis Tribute Artist Winner Brandon Bennett with the Sweet Inspirations and DJ Fontana
2008 Tupelo Elvis Tribute Artist Winner
2007 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Winner Shawn Klush
Jo Dee Messina
Closing act TBA
Saturday, June 7th at the Lyric Theatre
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Tupelo Ultimate Tribute Artist 2nd Round Preliminary Competition
Saturday, June 7th on Main Street:
Free Entertainment “Down on Main Street”
Refuse The Fall
Braden Gray and Loose Gravel
South of Sanity
Jamie Davis and Soul Gravy
Velvet Jones
Zachery Stone
Prosevere
Hindsight
Sunday, June 8th:
Gospel at First United Methodist Church
The Foyer Boys
The Landmarks
The Stamps
Tickets go on sale May 1.
The Tupelo Elvis Festival is proud to honor the musical heritage of the town that shaped the early years of our nation’s leading cultural icon.
For more information, go to www.tupeloelvisfestival.com.