The Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool
Three Days Of Competition & Showcases From Some Of The Best Elvis Tribute Artists In The United Kingdom
The KING of The Castle
Elvis Contest/
/ival
24th, 25th & 26th of May 2024
Headliners
Over the course of the three days we are proud to present some of the best artists that can be seen currently in The United Kingdom
Emilio Santoro
Emilio hails from Weston-Super-Mare and has been rising through the Elvis Tribute Artist ranks for a few years now. He has picked up multiple awards and fans along the way and in 2019 he made his long awaited USA debut in Elvis's home town of Memphis during Elvis week.
His 2019 Elvis week experience culminated with the 'Images of the King' World Championship Non Pro Division where he triumphed at just 17 years of age. Following on from Memphis Emilio entered the 2019 Porthcawl contest and walked away as Grand Champion. He then completed the ‘Hat Trick’ in Blackpool at the ‘Return to Memphis’ contest in early November - it seems 2019 was Emilio’s breakthrough year...
Then along came Covid-19. Although this obviously put his career on hold the work didn't stop and he used the opportunity to fine tune his craft, Emilio also produced his first two albums 'With Love' and 'The Christmas Album'. His third album 'At the Movies' followed in 2021.
2022 started with a huge bang as Emilio was victorious in the 2022 European Elvis Championships in Birmingham UK which means he has now completed a 'clean sweep' of all the available European titles. This European title resulted in national media attention.
April 2022 saw Emilio win the 'Peoples Choice' award in Canada at the beautiful 'Niagara Falls Elvis Festival'
The competitive highlight (so far) of Emilio's career happened in August 2022 when he overcame the most incredibly tough opposition to become Images of the King Professional World Champion, a historic moment as he became Europe's youngest world title winner ever right on Elvis Presley Boulevard. We thought this was huge but along came Tech company Metaphysic.ai and Emilio joined the team and appeared in a historic finale of Americas Got Talent in September 2022
On the contest front he will now turn his attention to the last of the available titles, EPE's Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist where he will begin the quest to qualify at several events.
Emilio Santoro
Ciaran Houlihan
Ciaran Houlihan is a Multi-Award winning Elvis Tribute Artist from Dublin, Ireland. He has been performing his tribute to Elvis for over 12 years and within that time has been awarded with many accolades and won numerous completions. Some include, All Ireland Elvis Champion, Best Vegas and Gospel Awards, Official European Elvis Gospel Champion and Official European Elvis Champion to name a few. His passionate and authentic performances have seen him travel throughout Europe and America performing his tribute to thousands of fans.
Ciaran Houlihan
Ciaran Houlihan is a Multi-Award winning Elvis Tribute Artist from Dublin, Ireland. He has been performing his tribute to Elvis for over 12 years and within that time has been awarded with many accolades and won numerous completions. Some include, All Ireland Elvis Champion, Best Vegas and Gospel Awards, Official European Elvis Gospel Champion and Official European Elvis Champion to name a few. His passionate and authentic performances have seen him travel throughout Europe and America performing his tribute to thousands of fans.
Arron Walker
Based in the North East of England Arron has won the Porthcawl novice competition in Wales, going on to be placed second in the main event. He also won the Return to Graceland in Blackpool, and in early 2018 came second in the European Championships and followed that up the following year by winning and becoming the European Champion. Arron was also the very first to be crowned The KING of The Castle in 2023.
Arron is based in the North East of England and in his short time as an ETA he has won the Porthcawl novice in Wales, going on to be placed second in the main event. He also won the Return to Graceland in Blackpool, and in early 2018 I came second in the European Championships.
He loves being on stage and performing as Elvis, the energy and buzz he gets, there’s no feeling like it. Elvis has been such a huge part of his life. Arron was bought up listening to Elvis' music which his Dad would play all the time, it was only a matter of time before the Elvis bug was going to bite! He's always watching Elvis’ movies and videos of him performing so he can study and learn from him, so he can always try to give the best rendition of Elvis he can.
One day Arron hopes to win the Ultimate, as you have to have a dream, you have to have a goal and his golden dream is to win the Ultimate.
Arron has also very recently been crowned The European Championships Winner 2019 at the Hilton hotel in Birmingham, England.
Arron Walker
JD King
JD King has performed as an Elvis impersonator at famous venues including Wembley Stadium, The O2, and the Ministry Of Sound. In The USA, he has appeared in New York, the Las Vegas strip, and at the gates of Graceland in Memphis, home of Elvis Presley. He was the first among Elvis impersonators to debut as headline act of the world’s largest tribute festival TribFest and is a proud member of the Elvis Tribute Artist Hall of Fame.
JD King
One of the the highest-rated and best reviewed Elvis tribute artists in the world is JD King; he aims to performs an Elvis tribute show that even the King himself would be proud of!
JD King (formerly known as ‘This Is Elvis’) offers clients many different Elvis tribute shows to choose from. He can perform as Elvis from all of the famous eras. Of all of the UK Elvis tribute artists working now, JD King is highly trusted by brands, celebs and Elvis fans. We’re confident you won’t be disappointed with any of his Elvis performance packages.
Hailing from Brighton (UK), JD has over the past 20 years built an excellent reputation for his exciting recreation of the King. Covering all his greatest hits, including Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes, Suspicious Minds and The Wonder of You. A lifelong actor/singer and Elvis fan, JD is one of the most enjoyable Elvis tribute artist you will find anywhere. Featuring all of Elvis’ classic songs from the 1950s Rock ‘n’ Roll to the 1970s Las Vegas jumpsuits.
Juan Lozano
Juan began his tribute to Elvis Presley in 2005 in response to the great boxing day tsunami of the previous year which desolated many parts of south Asia. Along with a close friend, he formed a large tribute band and took on the role of portraying the king to the best of his ability.
Juan Lozano
Juan began his tribute to Elvis Presley in 2005 in response to the great boxing day tsunami of the previous year which desolated many parts of south Asia. Along with a close friend, he formed a large tribute band and took on the role of portraying the king to the best of his ability.
Having been a lifelong fan of Presley, this was no hardship and the one off charity gig that was planned somehow inexplicably mushroomed into a full blown career, the highlights of which thus far being two appearances on BBC 1 television, the former being a televised contest dubbed 'The World's Greatest Elvis' and the latter being a big new year's eve bash with Irishman Graham Norton.
Juan continues to travel and perform extensively and his greatest joy is forging new friendships in The Crazy World of all things Elvis
The Cavernites
The Cavernites are a professional Four piece Beatles tribute band from Liverpool, who perform a tribute show that recreates the vibrant sounds of The Beatles touring years 1962 - 1966.
The Cavernites bring the sound and look of The Beatles back to life, and up to date musically taking the audience on a Magical Musical History Tour, through One of the greatest musical decades of all time
The Cavernites take their stage sets from the ones used by The Beatles during their concert tours. Performing classic Beatlemania hits as performed live by The Beatles material right from their early shows at Liverpool’s The Cavern club from 1962 to Candlestick Park in San Francisco the venue of their last ever concert in 1966.
Even a few hits from their last live performance on the Apple rooftop in London in 1969 are included to bring their live music career to an end.
The Cavernites perform completely live, performing a recreation of The Beatles live on stage not copying their recorded works but presenting an energetic, vibrant show, recreating the atmosphere and power of a live Beatles concert.
The Cavernites use original instruments from the period, names like Rickenbacker, Epiphone, Gibson and Fender together with a Ludwig drum kit, they also use original amplifiers, names such as Vox and Fender. The Beatles look is completed by the use of original stage clothes.
The Cavernites have performed their unique tribute to The Beatles at major outdoor and indoor music festivals both here in the UK Tribfest UK, Mathew Street Festival, Liverpool Beatleweek, Echo Arena and abroad in France, Belgium, Finland and recently Bahrain. They have been regular performers at Liverpool's famous Cavern club recreating the early Cavern clubs sweaty Rock and Roll sessions in the best of cellars.
The Cavernites are more than just a tribute show, they are the closest you can 'Get Back' to Beatlemania!.
The Cavernites
Our Incredible Houseband
The Graceland Band
Supporting all of our headline artists for each of their showcases and our house band for the finals of The KING of The Castle contest.
Comprising of four musicians with many years experience, the legend Juan Lozano and the sublime vocals of Mills & Boone, we are overjoyed that The Graceland Band will be back with us in 2024
Hosts & Compères
Simon Patrick
As a leading worldwide Elvis Tribute Artist, Simon has been a fan of the King pretty much all his life, in fact since he first discovered music. His passion for Elvis has led him to pay tribute to the King for over twenty years, commanding audiences in numerous countries worldwide including; The USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, The Bahamas, The Caribbean and all over Europe to name a few.
Complete with his 10 piece Viva Las Vegas Showband Simon has performed at most theatres around the UK to sell out audiences including a 20,000 strong crowd at Hyde Park in London for the Moonwalk Charity.
Simon has many TV appearances to his name such as The BBC’s Worlds Greatest Elvis and many more.
In one of his career highlights, in 2007 Simon was proud to be crowned Europe’s Best Elvis Tribute Artist.
In 2004 Simon decided he'd had enough of the British weather and relocated to Benidorm, Spain. He was soon noticed by the Spanish club owners and since then he's been headlining at the world famous Rock & Roll House, drawing in capacity crowds almost nightly.
Each year Simon brings a select collection of other artists from Benidorm back to the UK and to Blackpool in-particular where he presents his own Benidorm to Blackpool weekender to sell out audiences right here at The Norbreck Castle Hotel.
He continues to travel the world paying tribute to the greatest entertainer that ever lived, Elvis Presley.
Simon Patrick
Juan Lozano
As well as his Friday night headline spot we are pleased to welcome back Juan as one of our weekends compères for
The KING of The Castle 2024
in Blackpool
