Elvis has not only not left the building, he’s appearing in four more in northwestern B.C. locations when Donny Edwards brings him to life in The King, A Musical Tribute.
A fixture in Las Vegas, Edwards is bringing his stage performance to Smithers, Terrace, Kitimat and Prince Rupert along with the backing band, The Cadillac Kings and the Uptown Hornz.
“What we do is bring the Las Vegas show on the road,” said Edwards in a recent interview. “And I’m not sure there’s many people who can do that.”
Born in Jackson Lake, Texas, Edwards, 42, has been a fan of Elvis for as long as he can remember.
Combined with being a fan and growing up in a family where his mother, father and siblings all enjoyed to sing, it seemed only natural this would be his career path.
“People would say I looked like a young Elvis but I would say I’m not one of those guys. I don’t do Elvis. Those guys are weird,” Edwards recalled.
But winning a song contest with two Elvis tunes convinced him otherwise and he’s been performing Elvis since 2001.
It’s an occupation Edwards takes seriously, meeting as many people as possible who knew Elvis, including a cousin, and watching recorded stage performances closely so as to absorb every move. That preparation included learning voice control preparation.
“Elvis had a marvelous voice. Amazing breath control. He could sing every part of his backup singers,” said Edwards.
What impressed him the most was the ability of Elvis to not only sing, and sing well, but to move around stage while in full control of his voice.
“Elvis is the greatest vocalist we’ve ever known,” said Edwards. “He could sing anything. There are performers today, but none like Elvis. He could carry a show on his own.”
Edwards backs up those statements by saying that Suspicious Love is his favourite Elvis song. And that’s because on stage Elvis built a performance around it while singing it.
“The way he sang it, he just brought it to life,” said Edwards.
Edwards brings his admiration for Elvis to the Della Herman Theatre in Smithers May 15 before heading to Kitimat May 17, Terrace May 18, and Prince Rupert May 19.
Tickets are available at etixnow.com. Tickets at the door are cash only. All shows 7:30 p.m.