A Whole Lotta Sideburns- My Takeaways from the Nashville Elvis Festival

Allie West
Mar 24
10 min read

Updated: Mar 24

I just returned from my very first Elvis festival and… I am tired. Granted, I do have a disability and it doesn’t take much to wear me out, but there was a lot going on. If you’ve never attended an Elvis festival, I’m going to share the things I learned along the way, and if you’ve been to plenty of them, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Just to clarify, this is all from the perspective of a 29-year-old on a fixed income. My experience is vastly different from others, and I believe in being candid and transparent with my opinions, even if they’re not always glowingly positive. This is in no way a complaint against the festival—I had an amazing time and 100% plan to go next year—but I am just sharing my reality, and reader discretion is advised. The information I’m sharing also only pertains to the Nashville Elvis Festival; I can’t speak for the others just yet.

First and foremost, let’s talk about the cost: these events can be expensive. I feel like that’s not something people like to talk about, but I believe in transparency about sensitive subjects like finances. I had to be incredibly selective in which shows to attend because a daytime show was $49 before taxes and fees, and an evening show ran between $69 and $79. For some, that is no big deal. As a person on a fixed income, I picked two shows: Round 2 of the contest and the Finals. Now, if money were no object, you could drop $400 for a general admission pass to all the shows. If money really were no object, you could shell out $579 for a VIP pass, which got you into all ten shows with reserved seats in the first six rows, a t-shirt, and a program.

When I mentioned the lines to get in, someone told me that’s why they always get the VIP pass—to avoid such "trivial issues" the common folk deal with. I’m embellishing their tone slightly, but the message was exactly the same: next time, I should just "get one of those."

-laughs in poor millennial- I was told this by the same generation of people that complain that we waste money buying coffee and avocado toast. But I digress.

Let’s talk lodging. There was a group rate available if you stayed at the SpringHill Suites where the after-parties were located, priced at $184 a night. I’m sure that’s perfectly reasonable for a Nashville hotel, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. My mom and I drove in Saturday morning in time for Round 2 and left Sunday morning. If you’re a budget traveler, this is a great way to cut the cost down. It would’ve been much easier staying Friday night instead of making the drive Saturday morning, but saving the cash was the better option for us. We also found a hotel half a mile from the official event hotel that was about $40 cheaper. Do your research, friends!

We sat off to the side, so there were less heads in my way for photos.

If you’re new to the world of ETA contests, let me explain the general outline. Regardless of whether you go to Round 1 or Round 2, you will get to see all the contestants perform. Each contestant performs one song in each of the first two rounds. In Round 2, the top ten are selected to move on to the Finals. We chose to attend Round 2 because the Finals were the same night, so we could hit both in one trip. If you’re a "peasant" like me and don’t have the VIP armband, you’re going to want to get there early. The doors were set to open 30 minutes before the event. We arrived 45 minutes early and were still surprised at the length of the growing line. Even with the wait, we managed to snag good seats without people being right on top of us.

While Mom held our seats, I decided to wander around and check out the merch table and the few other vendors. I didn’t realize that, thanks to my wandering, I ended up right next to the staging area where the competitors were waiting. I was surprised and excited when Josh Pack stepped around the corner. Now, you have to understand: every ETA I interview becomes one of My Boys™ regardless of age. This was an exciting competition for me because half a dozen of My Boys™ were in it: Josh Pack, Randy Travis, Austin Pugh, Maxlee James, Tim Mack, and Dan Fontaine. At the time I’m writing this, Dan’s interview hasn’t gone up yet, but I actually spoke with him the week of the competition. This was my first time meeting all of them in person, so I was so excited to finally give them all a hug. I got the chance to talk to Josh and Randy before the competition, which was wonderful. I wished them "good luck," then immediately wondered if that was appropriate. In theater, you say "break a leg" and saying "good luck" is actually considered bad luck. Someone please tell me which one is the standard for the ETA world!

Dawson Horn is a name you're gonna wanna remember.

I returned to my seat and waited for the competition to begin. With 19 competitors, the show was divided by an intermission. I made sure to scream extra loud every time one of My Boys™ performed, likely deafening the poor people in front of me. While the scores were being calculated, Tupelo Tom—the host you’re undoubtedly familiar with if you’ve seen these contests—introduced a fifteen-year-old performer named Dawson Horn. I thought, "Oh, that’s nice. They’re giving a kid a chance to perform on the big stage." Then Tom announced that this kid had already raised $20,000 for St. Jude. I should have realized right then that I was about to see something special. Holy crap. My jaw, along with everyone else’s, dropped when Dawson began singing. When he hit the big note in "Unchained Melody," the entire room was on its feet. That kid is going places.

One issue that I—and many people I’ve spoken with—have with these contests is that the contestants do not receive a score sheet. I understand there are concerns about competitors comparing scores or placing blame on judges, but receiving some form of feedback would be an incredibly useful tool. Even if it was something distributed later, it would benefit so many performers. If the organizers are worried about specific judges catching flack, they could combine the feedback and give it to them anonymously. When competitors are left in the dark, they don’t know what they need to work on. Was it their song choice? Their look? The vocals? Giving them feedback, if not their actual scoresheet, would be a massive asset to the craft.

And that brings me to song selection. I’m not sure if this is how Nashville always does it, but typically the competitors submit a list of their top 10 songs, then they’re drawn in a random order. If ten people submit "Hound Dog," the first person drawn gets it. To get the songs they really want, a lot of ETAs try to choose more obscure songs and deep cuts. This is purely speculation (and a little math) on my part, but I noticed a bit of a trend. 70% of the contestants who made it to the Top 10 performed songs that were ranked among Elvis’ top 100 hits. There was only one song in that top 100 bracket that didn’t move forward. The three that weren't in the top 100 were still some of Elvis’ more well-known tracks. I understand the desire to do something obscure to stand out, but the hits are hits for a reason. It may be a struggle to get them on your list, but you might benefit from padding your selection with crowd favorites.

Left to right: Nick Perkins, Tony Nilsson, Michael Glaysher, Mat Shank, Dan Fontaine, Arron Walker, Tim Hembree, Alex Mitchell, Al Joslin, Austin Pugh

Two of My Boys™ made it to the finals: Austin Pugh and Dan Fontaine. I’m proud of every single one of them and believe they did their absolute best. This was just a particularly stiff competition. I didn’t realize when I originally purchased my tickets that Nashville is considered one of the "Big Three" festivals, along with Memphis and Tupelo. Randy Travis even mentioned that it’s a huge honor just to be selected to compete here.

I had some time to kill before the Finals, so I went back to the hotel for a bit. I figured we could arrive about 45 minutes early like we had for Round 2 and we’d get a good seat again. Oh, I was so naive. While I had an amazing time, I was not a fan of the location. It was held at "The Factory" in Franklin, which is a shopping center as well as a major Nashville hotspot. Even without a farmer’s market, a wedding, and an Elvis festival happening simultaneously, it would’ve been slammed. I was overconfident after whipping into a parking spot with ease earlier that morning. For the Finals, it was an entirely different ballgame. I thought fights were going to break out over parking. We all circled like vultures until a poor, innocent shopper decided to leave. I actually gasped when one person had been waiting for a spot with their blinker on and someone else hit the gas to steal it. I was certain blood would be shed.

You can barely make out the sign from my spot in line.

The parking gods finally took mercy on us, and we headed inside. The line went halfway down the mall. Again, this was 45 minutes before the contest, and the doors weren't even open yet. I was shocked at how long the line already was, and it doubled in length while I was waiting. We got seats, though they weren’t as great as the first time. I legitimately wondered if they’d sold more tickets than they had chairs. Mom held down the fort once more while I decided to wander, approaching anyone with black hair and sideburns.

By nature, I am what I would consider an ambivert. I’m typically introverted—preferring the company of my dogs over people—but I can be extroverted when the need arises. I pride myself on my ability to walk up to literally anyone and start a conversation. So, I strolled around with a stack of business cards and got to work. Now, here’s where I ran into trouble: I couldn't remember who I had already talked to. It’s a bit surreal being in a room surrounded by black hair and sideburns. It’s like going to Comic-Con, but everyone came as the same character. I’m certain I introduced myself to the same people multiple times. To be fair, I do that with people who don’t look like Elvis, too, since I have the memory of a goldfish. I sincerely hope no one took it personally!

My ability to strike up a conversation worked in my favor when I (accidentally) met three headliners. I thought I recognized Jay Dupuis out of costume and felt very proud of myself. That pride was misplaced when I tapped him on the shoulder, stuck out my hand, and said, "Hi, are you Jay?" To which he replied, "No, I’m Ben Thompson." Whoops. You see, my ability to talk to anyone only works on an even playing field. I thought it was Jay, I prepared myself to talk to Jay, so when it was, in fact, a different headliner, I was reduced to a bumbling idiot. I’m fairly certain I gave him a business card, but it’s all a blur. Later that evening, I struck up a conversation with another Elvis, gave my whole spiel, then shook his hand and asked his name. "Jimmy Holmes." That would be Jimmy Holmes, the reigning Ultimate Tribute Artist champion. I can only hope my confidence before I knew who he was overrode the weirdo I became immediately after.

Before the results were announced, there was another brief intermission and a special performance- Riley Jenkins! Riley was the winner last year in Nashville, and this was his "victory concert." It was awesome to see him perform live, as I'd only seen him on youtube the year before when he won the title. It's easy to see why he did- Riley knows how to put on a heck of a show!

I would have loved to see all my friends place, but I can’t deny that the top three earned their spots. I’ve been a fan of Al Joslin for years, so seeing him snag first place was what I imagine it’s like for football fans to see their team win the Super Bowl. I was on my feet screaming and celebrating. My boy Dan snagged second place, and I was telling anyone who would listen, "THAT’S MY FRIEND!" While I wasn’t familiar with Alex Mitchell before this weekend, he did a fantastic job, and I’m definitely a fan now.

After the winners were announced, I headed to the "legendary" after-party. I’m not sure what I was expecting—maybe Elvises hanging from the chandeliers and toupees being flung about? Maybe that happened later, but I had to leave early. I fought my claustrophobia for as long as I could; I felt like a sardine in a can, but I managed to shake some hands and exchange some hugs. It was at this party that I lingered near Diogo Light and pretended I totally wasn’t waiting for him to notice me lurking. This was a solid plan until I realized there were far too many people wanting his attention and I’d just have to grab him before someone else did.

I want to emphasize that all of these guys are so incredibly nice. Ben Thompson could’ve been offended that I didn’t recognize him, and Jimmy Holmes could’ve brushed me off. Diogo Light was a total gentleman. They, and every other ETA I met, were so kind and genuine. I know some of these guys may never have time for an interview for my little blog, but they all smiled and took my card.

All in all, it was an incredible weekend. Watching the competition in person is a completely different animal than watching low-quality YouTube videos. Being there in the room, feeling the energy and the vocals, is so much better. I can honestly say every single contestant impressed me. If you ever have the opportunity to attend an Elvis festival, DO IT. These guys work so hard and are so incredibly talented. I knew a handful of competitors this year- I hope by next year to know them all.