Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building … and is headed to Bigfork.
That’s right – for one day, and one day only, the King will be in the Bigfork Village for two Valentine’s Day shows. Well, maybe not the actual King, but a pretty solid reproduction.
Elvis tribute artist Ryan Pelton and his band The Difference will perform “Love Me Tender: Elvis Live in Concert” during the annual Valentine’s Day celebration in Bigfork, courtesy of the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts.
This year’s theme for Electric Avenue is “Ticket to Romance,” and Elvis just seemed like a perfect addition, according to Mary Jo Naive of the BCPA and owner of Merry Gems.
“I just thought it was a great fit; it’s just really appealing to a broad age group,” Naive said. “The Elvis we’re getting is phenomenal.”
Pelton has performed as the King for about 10 years, giving in after hearing he looked like Elvis for much of his life. He entered a national Elvis impersonator contest on a dare and as an entertaining alternative from his job as a computer programmer.
He ended up in the finals, where he sang “Jailhouse Rock” in front of thousands of fans in Ohio. To help him remember the unfamiliar lyrics, Pelton wrote the words on his hand, but sweat and humidity quickly erased them.
“It came time for me to get up, I was going to sing ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and I didn’t know the words,” Pelton said in a phone interview last week from Nashville. “I went out there and sang the same verse five times.”
His career has come a long way since then. Pelton worked in the Legends in Concert series in Las Vegas for six years and is the only tribute artist to perform at Graceland. It’s been quite the change from programming computers, Pelton said.
“Being an entertainer is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life – it’s always different, it’s always challenging,” Pelton said.
The concert generated considerable buzz in the Village, so much so that the BCPA asked Pelton to perform a second show after the 8 p.m. performance sold out the 435-seat theater. He agreed to swivel his hips and be a hunk, a hunk of burning love for a second matinee show at 2 p.m., which as of press time was over halfway sold out.
Bridget Michlig of the BCPA contributes the excitement to a few different factors. First, the music most likely brings people back to the 1950s and 1960s when their lives were simpler and easier to sort out.
“People began to reminisce about the mood during that time period, the sense that they had a place in the world, that it was a productive time in the country and things were a little more clear,” Michlig said. “There was quite a bit of an emotional response to the Elvis vehicle.”
Another factor in the popularity is the fact that it’s a concert. The BCPA has been planning to expand the entertainment genres at the theater to include music as well as the usual stage events. A concert of this style and magnitude is a triumph for the BCPA members who have heard requests for more concerts from community members, Naive said.
There is also enthusiasm from the downtown merchants participating in the Valentine’s Day festival. The Village gets decked out for the celebration, with giant red hearts and hundreds of red balloons lining Electric Avenue. There are also plenty of “sweetheart” deals from area merchants, Michlig said.
But for many, Elvis would be a magnet even if he weren’t performing on Valentine’s Day, Michlig said. She added that people have been wandering into her shop, Artisans, and asking what they should wear for such an occasion.
“I expect we’ll see some sequins and satins and sparkles,” Michlig said.
The concert will be very interactive and exciting, Pelton promised, and will include classics from the 1950s through the 1970s. The audience should look forward to forgetting their cares for an evening and enjoying themselves, he said.
“That’s what I enjoy doing; that’s what my goal is when I go on stage,” Pelton said.
For ticketing information, call 837-5888 or visit Merry Gems, Artisans or the Jug Tree in downtown Bigfork. Tickets cost $27.50 and are also available online at http://www.bigforktheater.org/elvis-event.html.