Concert FAQ

Is Elvis Presley In Concert the same as Elvis-The Concert that toured from 1998 to 2005? Why the name change?

Yes, it is the same show. For marketing purposes - to distinguish it better from impersonator shows and to clarify that (via video) it stars the real Elvis Presley - the show's name Elvis-The Concert was changed to Elvis Presley In Concert in 2006, often accompanied with the tag line The New Concert Tour. It was decided that using both Elvis's first and last names would give the show a stronger identity.

The 2006 show has a dynamic song program similar to that of previous tours, although adjustments in repertoire do occur from tour to tour and production values of the presentation have been given a real boost, including the use of Elvis footage camera loads not used on previous tours. Also, for the first time, the show will be accompanied by a small exhibit of Elvis costumes and other concert-related items from the Graceland archives. The exhibit will be in the lobby area of each venue and will not have an admission fee.

I was told by the venue staff that I could not bring my camera to the show, yet you tell me I can. What's up with that?

Are cameras allowed at Elvis Presley In Concert? Yes. Flash? Yes. Audio and video devices are not allowed, but regular still cameras with flash are allowed at all our concerts. In fact, we encourage flash because it adds to our efforts to re-create the feeling of being at an Elvis concert when Elvis was alive. However, every time we tour we hear from fans who say that the staff at one venue or another has told them "no cameras" or that the tickets issued by the venue or their ticketing services say "No cameras." Anytime you encounter something like this with our show, it's a mistake. Don't ever believe it.

We always make a special point of emphasizing to each venue's management that we DO want the fans to be allowed to bring still cameras with flash. But, usually one venue or another on a tour does not communicate this properly to their front line staff or to their ticketing services. This is why you get wrong information. They don't know that the "no cameras" policy for most concerts does not apply to Elvis concerts and Elvis fans.

Please DO take your camera with you no matter what you are told. Sometimes, we don't learn about a camera problem at a venue until show night. In those instances, our announcer tells the audience it's okay, but we usually have unhappy fans who left their cameras at home thinking the venue's "no cameras" statement was true.

If, prior to your attendance of Elvis Presley In Concert, you receive such wrong information from a venue employee, please refer them to this explanation. If you encounter this on actual show night at the venue, you can whip out a copy of this and you can also point out to them the statement always found in our souvenir concert program book inviting fans to use their cameras and encouraging the use of flash.

Why aren't you touring more often? Why aren't you coming to my city or country? How do you decide when and where to go on tour?

We have limited windows of time in which our key cast members are all available to tour with our show. Most of them stay very busy with other career commitments. This is a key factor in determining when we tour. Once the window of time is determined, we contact many promoters representing many venues in the regions, nations or continents we are hoping to visit on a particular tour, or they have heard about the show and have contacted us. Where we end up going is determined by which promoters respond enthusiastically to the opportunity to book our show and who have an appropriate venue available on an appropriate date and with whom an agreement can be reached. Then, all the dates and locations have to fit within a practical travel plan - getting from one city to the next, from one show date to the next, all within the time that our cast is available for a tour. That's the simplest explanation of how we book a tour. Of course, there are hundreds of other factors involved.

What is the future of Elvis Presley In Concert after the currently scheduled tour dates are finished? Will you ever bring the show to my area?

We hope to continue touring for a while and we hope to go as many places as possible and make as many fans happy as we possibly can. No populous place on earth is being excluded deliberately. We go where and when we can as described above. If we have not yet brought the show to your area, then will we? We don 't know. We'll have to wait and see. On this web site the tour schedule is updated and a notice goes in News immediately after we receive confirmation of a new booking for the show, plus we issue an E-newsletter alert immediately. You will always know about new show bookings almost as soon as we do!

Will there be a DVD release of Elvis Presley In Concert?

Is the 20th Anniversary Concert available on DVD? We tried to work it out to have a video/DVD release of the huge reunion show we did in Memphis for the twentieth anniversary Elvis Week in August 1997, the show that sort of became the production prototype for our touring show. We even went so far as to shoot/record an "archival" video in hopes of releasing it as well as capturing the event on tape for history's sake. The show was called Elvis in Concert '97. We couldn't make the video/DVD release happen. It was just too complicated and costly to get all the clearances from music publishers, Elvis footage owners and the performers, plus the audio portion of the recording did not turn out to be of satisfactory quality for a release.

What about a DVD of the touring show? We looked into it and made some attempts at getting this done. Costs of shooting and recording it properly, the production and packaging, clearances from the publishers/ copyright holders of the songs, clearances on all the footage we use that we do not own, paying the cast, the musicians' union, etc. were too much to contend with for a release that could have a market smaller than needed to ensure that all costs would be recouped. Even if the costs weren't so scary, just getting all parties to agree and cooperate would be a challenge. We eventually abandoned the idea of doing a DVD of our touring production.

What about a DVD release of Elvis: The 25th Anniversary Concert? Yes! We shot and recorded the show properly for history's sake and so we would have high quality material should it work out for us to do a release. This show took place in Memphis on August 16, 2002 and, like the 1997 Memphis show, it brought together a much larger cast of Elvis bandmates than we tour the with on the road show. We offered Coming Home Music (Gaither Management), the company that produced the excellent documentary He Touched Me - The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley, the opportunity to produce and distribute a DVD. The DVD came out in August 2006 as a Graceland/EPE merchandising exclusive and went into full release in early 2007. The DVD is entitled Elvis Lives: The 25th Anniversary Concert Event. It is available through ShopElvis.com, Graceland visitor center stores and typical DVD distribution outlets everywhere. Get content in our News section. Coming Home Music also has arranged some television airings of this program from time to time, particularly on PBS affiliate stations.

What about a DVD release of Elvis: The 30th Anniversary Concert? Elvis: The 30th Anniversary Concert and the Elvis: Midnight in Vegas Concert, presented at FedExForum in Memphis on August 16, 2007, were properly shot and recorded for history's sake and in the event that someday we could do something with the footage. No DVD releases are in the works at this time, so if they happen, it won't be soon. A DVD release would be very complicated and expensive and the market for such a release would be very limited. that market is currently served by the 25th Anniversary Concert DVD, our big show for 2002, which was released on DVD in the latter half of 2006. But, we'll see. It was a struggle to get the 25th Anniversary show out on DVD, but it happened.

Will there be a soundtrack release of Elvis Presley In Concert?

We pursued making an audio recording of our tour show available. This would have meant using Elvis' original vocal tracks with all-new backing vocals and instrumentals by our tour cast. Sony BMG has the exclusive right to distribute Elvis music recordings. Despite the costs of doing a proper recording of the show, producing the album and paying the cast, and considering how limited the market might be for such a product, the record company was ready to work with us on this. However, the financial requirements of several key cast members made the release unfeasible and the project died.

As a consolation, we did work with the record company to make a special collectible 2-CD set featuring the full original live recordings of Elvis and his bandmates performing most of the songs that are presented in our show. (Nothing to negotiate with cast members because the deal was done with them way back when for the original releases.) In some instances, certain performances used in our show were not available for one reason or another, so the record company substituted alternate Elvis recordings of these songs. The CD set was available at the concert venues on show nights for most of our tours until 2003, but it is no longer available and we do not anticipate ordering new stock.

Is special Elvis Presley In Concert merchandise available?

Yes. Commemorative program books, T-shirts, jackets and other items are sold at the concert venues on show nights. After a tour ends remaining quantities are available at Graceland gift shops, through the Graceland merchandise mail order department: 901-332-3322 or 1-800-238-2000 or glgifts@elvis.com. So far, levels of remainder inventory and level of demand have not warranted adding the concert merchandise to Shop Elvis here on our site.

I called the ticket sales office or concert venue to buy tickets for Elvis Presley In Concert and they didn't know what I was talking about! Why?

This problem has occurred for a few shows on some of our tours. It's aggravating and we apologize. Here's what happens sometimes: We book a tour, which means we know about it, the venue management knows about it and the venue's promoter knows about it. The information is released to the media and placed on our web site, so the fans know about it. (Actually, the Elvis fan "grapevine" is so active that fans often know about our tours before we announce them!) Then, fans start calling the venue or the ticket seller. But, the promoter and venue management have not fully informed the front line box office/ticket distributor staff and they do not yet have our show set up in the ticketing system. The people who answer the phones get a call about Elvis Presley In Concert, they look on their computer and see no information and then tell a fan that they don't know anything about our show. We've encouraged all promoters/venues to inform ticket sellers as soon as possible once a booking is confirmed. Usually, the problem is resolved well before the on-sale date.

I didn't see as much advertising, promotion and news coverage for the engagement of Elvis Presely In Concert in my area as I thought there should be. Why?

Promotion is the responsibility of the promoter who represents the particular venue - his contractual obligation, his budget. We offer all the help, ideas, materials, support and encouragement that we possibly can. Promoters can spend only so much on advertising and promotion. Their budgets have to accommodate a great many shows that they handle throughout the year. A big challenge our show has had in some tour cities is that the public does not readily understand what the show is about. Some see the ads and hear the radio commercials and simply dismiss the production as some sort of impersonator show or film festival. It's a real challenge to make it clear to them that our show really does star the real Elvis Presley (via video), that his own original bandmates are live on stage, and that our show is an astonishingly authentic Elvis concert experience. Often, a promoter's normal budget for advertising a show isn't as effective for our show as it is for a show in which the headline performer is living.

Another aspect of promotion is news coverage. We, together with the promoters, do press releases, Internet articles, press kits, promotional videos, etc., and we set up interviews with cast and production team members. We are very proactive with this and tend to get a very good response. Overall, the news coverage has been good. But, we cannot force the media to do any more coverage than they wish to do. News coverage is really big for some tour dates and not so big for others.

Over time, the growing reputation of the show, the continuing news coverage, audience word of mouth, etc. have overcome much of the public misconception. Our concert was a new concept in entertainment. It usually takes time for groundbreaking new concepts to gain wide public awareness and understanding. The show has always been quite successful in most of the cities it has played, overwhelmingly successful in some. All our production team, cast and crew, and all the promoters we've worked with know that we have a first-rate show. Audiences love it. The reviews are great. We know we've got a real winner. The Elvis fans know it. We have been thrilled with the success we've had and we continue to be deeply proud of this wonderful production.