Post by Admin on Dec 14, 2018 8:18:53 GMT -5
Elvis Presley Enterprises and Live Nation are teaming up to bring a year-round slate of concerts to Graceland.
Officials with EPE confirmed that the 2000-capacity Graceland Soundstage (located at the Elvis Presley’s Memphis complex) and the 464-capacity theater inside the Guest House at Graceland Hotel, would be ramping up their bookings in conjunction with concert promotion powerhouse Live Nation. Plans call for between 50-75 shows in 2019, with that number to increase in 2020.
“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,” said Joel Weinshanker, Managing Partner of Graceland Holdings.
In a statement, Ben Weeden, COO of Live Nation Clubs and Theaters, said that the company was proud to be working with Graceland, "one of the singular iconic and transformational music brands on earth. We’re anticipating a creative partnership that will play a role in honoring such a historic artist and the place he called home.”
To date, most of the relative handful of shows that have taken place at the Soundstage and Theater since opening in 2017 have been Elvis-connected. Live Nation’s involvement will help expand the bookings dramatically, both in number and in scope.
“We get 600,000 people traveling annually to Graceland. They’re coming to experience the history of pop culture and rock and roll. We want to enhance that experience by giving them the opportunity to see as many concerts and special events as possible," said Weinshanker. "We have the people here already, so it makes sense to build in even more entertainment options for them.”
Weinshanker adds that EPE will announce the first slate of 2019 shows — a mix of legacy acts and up-and-comers acts, plus a variety of special concert events — in the coming weeks.
“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 — and we’ve already had a dozen requests to do that. Also, because we have state-of-the-art light, sound and video setup, an artist doesn’t even need to be on tour with their own production to do a show here. I’ve had a number of artists saying they’d like to come and play a one-off event.”
EPE’s plans also call for concerts to serve as centerpieces for a variety of themed weekend festivals. One already announced show, by pop-rocker Rick Springfield in January, is part of a fan convention for the soap opera "General Hospital" (which Springfield starred in). “Historically, people have come from all over the world to Graceland to spend time with other people who love Elvis. We want to extend that idea to include a bunch of other artists, shows and concepts,” said Weinshanker.
That effort will be aided by the opening of the Graceland Exhibition Hall, which is slated to finish construction in May. “That will give us further space to do some huge conventions and exhibitions,” said Weinshanker. “We’re talking about large-scale international museum-level exhibits.”
Weinshanker is still bullish on EPE’s proposed plans to build a 6200-capacity arena next to Graceland. Those efforts have been tied up due to litigation with the City of Memphis over delays in the approval process. City leaders say the arena could violate a non-compete agreement with the FedExForum. Currently, EPE’s case is moving through the courts.
“We feel confident about what the outcome is going to be legally, and that it will be in our favor," said Weinshanker. "I think we’ll be open in 2020 or 2021 with that arena."
In the meantime, Weinshanker says EPE is working to expand The Guest House at Graceland hotel. “We also are looking at bringing in some destination retail to the area, which is sorely needed,” he said. “We want to bring some retail, and some outlet retail, not only that the local community needs, but people from around the world would enjoy."
“We’ve already had 20 million people come to Graceland since it opened. There’s 20 million more, who I’m sure, will want to visit,” Weinshanker said. “It’s about giving them a reason to come and spend their tourism dollars.”
www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/12/13/elvis-presley-enterprises-memphis-live-nation-team-up-graceland-concerts/2295230002/