Artists of all genres are about to be received at Graceland. The former home of Elvis Presley, which is now a famous tourist attraction in Memphis, Tennessee, is set to begin hosting non-Elvis related concerts in the coming year. Elvis Presley Enterprises is teaming up with concert promoter Live Nation to produce concerts on the property, which will range from well-known legacy artists to emerging talent when the shows begin in 2019.
The events will take place in different parts of the property, which already welcomes a reported 600,000 tourists on an annual basis. Live Nation will likely handle the booking and marketing side of the partnership, with members of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) likely to help set up the event logistics on site. There will be two different locations on the property where shows can take place, the first being in the 2,000-capacity Graceland Soundstage located at Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex, and the second being the 464-capacity theater located inside the Guest House at the Graceland Hotel. A new Graceland Exhibition Hall is also currently undergoing initial construction and is expected to be ready by May to add even more property space where music-based events could be held.
Graceland is already known for hosting different events mostly themed around Elvis and his music. This would be the first time that the museum would start consistently producing concerts by artists who don’t have anything to do with the Elvis brand. As of Saturday, the only announced performer for 2019 whose music fits outside of the Elvis realm is Rick Springfield, who is scheduled to play at the Graceland Soundstage on January 19th.
“Graceland is already the most famous music destination in the world. And we want to make it one of the most famous destinations to see live music as well,” Graceland Holdings managing partner Joel Weinshanker said in a statement about their forthcoming concert plans. “We’ve already had a lot of interest within the industry and from artists about playing Graceland. We expect we’re going to be doing a lot of different kinds of show, whether its album release parties, or someone wanting to make a live album.”
Some of the aforementioned legacy artists and outspoken Elvis fans likely to perform at Graceland could range from Aerosmith’s Joe Perry to Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant. Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, could also be one of the notable names to perform at her old home sometime in the future.
[H/T Commercial Appeal]