The First Four-day Elvis Presley Tribute Festival Graces Downtown Lynchburg

Colored lights danced across the theater stage as a man with slicked-back, black hair and thick sideburns and dressed in an all-white conquistador jumpsuit, emerged from side stage, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the king of rock ‘n’ roll himself: Elvis Presley. 

Taylor Rodriguez, a Lynchburg native, has dedicated his life to continuing the King’s legacy by performing as an Elvis tribute artist. From Sept. 9-12, Rodriguez performed for four days straight during Virginia’s first “Tribute to the King Festival” at the Academy Center of the Arts in downtown Lynchburg. 

Rodriguez discovered his fondness for Elvis at the age of 6, during the times his aunt would babysit him and play Elvis’ top-hit records on repeat. Rodriguez, now 23, found that he was — and still is — passionate about the iconic star. 

This festival had been a dream for Rodriguez for years now, but the idea did not become a reality on a whim. Rodriguez has been steadily working to be an Elvis tribute artist for most of his life. 

“The first song that I ever heard was ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’ and [I] instantly  fell in love with Elvis’ music and started doing a lot more research on him,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez started performing his tributes at age 9. In 2019, Rodriguez won the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition held in Memphis, Tennessee. That win means receiving endorsement by Elvis Presley Enterprises, he said. 

For those interested in a more immersive experience, the festival offered VIP packages that included meet-and-greets, photo opportunities and special lounges to relax in when guests were not busy rocking and rolling with Elvis. 

In addition to preparing for his performance, Rodriguez also spearheaded the arrangement of the festival, which was put on by his company, TMJR Productions.

“I have been preparing everything from production schedules and setlist and run sheets to, you know, basically stocking gift bags for the entertainers to the…VIP members,” he said. “It’s been hectic, but it’s been an experience, and I would do it again 100 times.” 

For Geoff Kershner, executive director of the Academy Center of the Arts, the decision to host the festival at the Academy was an easy one, due to Rodriguez’s local status and long-standing relationship with the Academy as a performer. 

The Tribute Festival was put together and organized by Taylor Rodriguez, who performed as one of nine tribute artists. 

“We have utilized Taylor for different things at different points, whether he was performing here in support of another organization, utilizing our facility, or whether we ourselves were, you know, utilizing his talents for an event,” Kershner said. “[It] made a lot of sense as a venue for him to execute the event. So, I think he identified that this would be the right place.” 

Rodriguez said that Lynchburg felt like a natural choice for him when it came to creating the first Elvis festival in the state, as he shared Kershner’s feelings about the Academy: the location was a perfect fit. 

“Since this is my hometown, and so many people have known me throughout the years, and I’ve established so many connections — like with Geoff Kershner and the Academy — I kind of brought this idea to them and they were basically all for it,” Rodriguez said. 

According to the Academy’s website, the event also featured other performers paying tribute to Elvis, including two others who won the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition, Bill Cherry and David Lee. Tribute artists Diogo Light, Cote Deonath, Austin Irby, Jacob Roman and Michael Cullipher played at the festival as well.

Festivalgoers enjoyed jamming out to classics like “It’s Now or Never,” “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Jailhouse Rock,” But for Rodriguez, his Elvis song of choice to perform is a hymn. 

“Actually, one of my favorite Elvis songs is ‘How Great Thou Art,’” Rodriguez said. “That is one of my favorite songs to sing.” 

If you would like to discover more about the tribute festival, visit the academycenter.org.

Smith is the A-section copy editor. Follow her on Twitter at @jssmith_jss.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *