• Only six days left until Elvis Week 2015!

    I am excited and happy! Happy I decided to fly in for Elvis Week 2015! After all it’s the Elvis Week during which Elvis fans from around the world celebrate Elvis Presley’s 80th birthday! In 2013 I first visited Memphis, Tupelo, and Elvis Week. Back then I unfortunately did not have much time and saw not much more than the “Aloha from Hawaii” concert for the 40th anniversary at the Orpheum Theatre. This time it will be different, because this time I will have time! Above all, I will cover Elvis week on this travel blog (more or less) live. So how does my schedule look like?

    Visit Graceland Sign on the Interstate.

    Visit Graceland Sign on the Interstate.

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  • Elvis Tribute Artist Ben Portsmouth Travels the World Enjoying his Afternoon Tea…

    At the purple-black decorated desk in the New Daisy Theatre on famous Beale Street in downtown Memphis I sit working – and, waiting for all the fans to finally get their autographs and take their photos of themselves together with Elvis-Impersonator Ben Portsmouth, who just minutes ago was sitting right there on a white wooden folding chair performing his acoustic concert. It’s Elvis Week 2015 and the city is crowded with men, women and even children who look astonishingly similar to Elvis Presley. Ben Portsmouth though is looking rather casual right now with his plain white T-shirt and fawn-colored trousers as he welcomes his fans with an excessively charismatic smile. At long last – after all the fans have had their chance to shake hands with him – Ben appears with a stack of New Zealand chocolate, a much appreciated gift from his fans. Ben directs his eyes to me as if to acknowledge what we both know – we’re starving – and so Ben proposes we go out to  lunch.

    Ben Portsmouth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2015.

    Ben Portsmouth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2015.

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  • Elvis in Vegas Tribute Concert Featuring the Terry Mike Jeffrey Band

    On August 14 the Terry Mike Jeffrey Band performed on the Main Stage at Graceland during Elvis Week 2015. The event was called “Elvis in Vegas Tribute Concert featuring the Terry Mike Jeffrey Band”, and the audience was also able to enjoy Elvis imagery and videos on the big screen. We’ve had a full house with lots of standing ovations – both for the band, and for Elvis in his videos.

    The Elvis in Vegas Tribute Concert featuring the Terry Mike Jeffrey Band during Elvis Week 2015.

    The Elvis in Vegas Tribute Concert featuring the Terry Mike Jeffrey Band during Elvis Week 2015.

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  • David Lee is the 2015 Ultimate Elvis Tribut Artist Champion!

    Yesterday evening the finals of the Ultimate Elvis Tribut Artist Contest took place at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. David Lee won the contest, which makes him the 2015 Ultimate Elvis Tribut Artist Champion!

    David Lee and the other four final contestants at the 2015 Ultimate Elvis Tribut Artist Contest.

    David Lee and the other four final contestants at the 2015 Ultimate Elvis Tribut Artist Contest.

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  • Elvis Impersonator Dean Z Talks about Travel: “I was Flying a Plane Before I was Driving a Car!”

    It’s a sunny morning in Blackpool, England. The nights during the Elvis Festival “Europe’s Tribute to Elvis” have been far too short, and so I am happy to spend my time waiting in a comfortable brown leather chair in the luxurious hotel lobby. Suddenly, Dean Zeligman, more commonly known to his fans as “Dean Z”, shows up good-tempered, casually dressed – and late. Being late is one of the things he hates about himself, but especially due to the short nights, this is nothing that bothers me. Dean also seems a tad bit tired and a shade groggy in his pale-blue denim shirt and his blue jeans. It was only two days ago that he flew in from Las Vegas and his schedule in England wouldn’t cooperate with the understandable jet lag fatigue. However, it did not affect his positive mood in any way. The plan was to talk about travel, but that turns out to be more difficult than expected: As Elvis was said to be, Dean is congenial, and likeable, and thanks to his humor and naturalness talking to him as well deviating from the subject is quite easy…

    "Dean Z as Elvis" - that's how Elvis impersonator Dean Zeligman is known to his fans.

    “Dean Z as Elvis” – that’s how Elvis impersonator Dean Zeligman is known to his fans.

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  • Dean Z and Cody Ray Slaughter at Europe’s Tribute to Elvis Festival in Blackpool, England

    “Europe’s Tribute to Elvis” was an Elvis festival in Blackpool, England that lasted three days. Elvis impersonators Dean Z and Cody Ray Slaughter were the headliners of two evening concerts. Ben Portsmouth was confirmed as the third “Elvis Presley”, but due to health reasons he unfortunately was not able to participate. Enjoy the first pictures taken during the two concert evenings (camera: Nikon D7100; Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm)!

    Dean Z as Elvis during his jam session in Blackpool, England.

    Dean Z as Elvis during his jam session in Blackpool, England.

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  • The European Refugee Crisis in Calais, France

    Sometimes things don’t go your way. “When holidays turn into nightmares”… this does not necessarily has to have something to do with a bad hotel or bad service. Private circumstances can lead to vacations without fun, too. When my journey to the Elvis festival in Blackpool, England in July started, I did not want to go at all. But in the end I let myself be persuaded to go and thought everything would be fine at my destination… It wouldn’t! Not at all… That is how it happened I found myself not only at the Eurotunnel for the first time of my life, but also in the center of the European refugee crisis in Calais.

    From London to Calais via Eurotunnel: straight into the refugee crisis.

    From London to Calais via Eurotunnel: straight into the refugee crisis.

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