Almanac Music: Parkes Elvis Festival 2026

 

Parkes Elvis Festival 2026.

 

It’s not easy being an Elvis Tragic.  You are torn between the real deal, who died nearly 49 years ago, and the proliferation of very talented Elvis Tribute Artists (ETAs), formerly and inappropriately called Elvis Impersonators.

 

Also the festival clashes with the Lorne Pier to Pub, which I have chalked up 20 registered swims.  

 

This year, our second in a row, Marlene and myself once again rode our motorcycles up to Parkes, having three night stops along the way.  It certainly was good to take an extra night for our travels, as the January heat was putting in a big one.  

 

As we travelled, I kept up to date with the Fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.   I had followed this Ashes series, and wanted a good outcome for the Aussies.

 

Back to the Elvis Festival.

 

We arrived on the Wednesday 7th January morning at the Tourist Information Centre in Parkes.   There is always a presentation to an Australian music artist, who has contributed much towards our music industry.  The artist is awarded a plaque on the replica Graceland Gates.  This year it was Marcia Hines.

 

 

 

The formalities over, we then proceeded to our accommodation which is a shared house with other guests.  It’s very hard to find accommodation in Parkes for the festival, as the normal  population is thirteen thousand, and the event adds another estimated twenty-five thousand to the population, making accommodation a premium.  Our room at the house was spacious and very comfortable, with very adequate shower and toilet facilities as well as a continental breakfast.

 

 

Not wanting to miss out, we got a taxi into town, and caught up with friends.  We watched an ETA called Rick Hudson, who was really good.  Also we met up with our own local ETA, Charlie Gaylard, and had a chat with him.

 

A visit to the railway station is essential, as the Elvis Express comes in from Sydney.  I think there were three trains.  Plenty of costumes, performers on the trains, and generally good vibes all round.

 

 

That evening we rode over to Forbes for tea with our friends, who were staying at Forbes.  The town of Forbes also gets involved with the festival.   Riding back in the dark was a little daunting, as my headlights seemed to be pointing down instead of along the road.  Plus there had been a very serious collision earlier in the day, and traffic flow was still affected.

 

Instead of turning this into a elongated diary of our trip, I will change tact and describe some of the highlights of the festival that I saw.  

 

Two distractions were also on our minds while we were at Parkes.  We were very aware of the devastating fires in Victoria, some even getting close to our hometown of Colac.  It was terrible to see the loss of animals and people’s homes, as well as the death of a person.  The other minor distraction was the cricket, and yes we prevailed!

 

The festival does focus on Elvis, but also acknowledges other performers of that era, through tribute performances. A fellow by the name of Kris Knight did a great tribute to Buddy Holly.   Also Rick Hudson does a neat tribute to Rick Nelson.  Another fellow by the name of Stuey V can take you back to a time when Richie Valens was a star.  If you closed your eyes with Aaron Mansfield, you could hear the Big O.

 

 

There are lots of quality free entertainment as well as ticketed performances.  We attended a performance that was replicating Elvis’s performances in the 68 Comeback Special.  Two ETAs alternated doing parts of this show.  If you have not seen Elvis’s Comeback Special, it was his first step towards resurrecting his career.

 

 

 

For me, the act I was waiting for and did not disappoint, was the show featuring Charlie Gaylard and Jack Gatto.  Charlie does the fifties era, and Jack does the seventies era.  The both nailed their parts.  Charlie blew me away with his rendition of ‘Anyway You Want Me’ and ‘Young Dreams’.  Jack had me tearing up with his piano and vocal rendition of ‘Unchained Melody’.   A really superb show, which they sold out all three shows.  Charlie also celebrated his 17th birthday up there, on January 10th.  A young fellow with a big future.

 

There are a host of ETA wannabes, which too can be very entertaining and funny.

 

The gospel session at the Cooke Park Stage on the last day (Sunday) is also great to listen to.  Elvis only ever won three Grammies, and they were all for his gospel music.  It’s a must, that the ETAs can do gospel.

 

So with the festival done and dusted, we have to start thinking about next year.   As I already indicated, the first priority will be finding somewhere to stay.  Although our accommodation this year was magic, our host could not have us back, as their  friends had already booked for next year.

 

All being well, we will be back there in 2027.

 

 

 

All images Stan Kluzek

 

Read Stan’s story of when his sister met Elvis in 1970 Here

 

Read more from Stan Kluzek Here.

 

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