When Donny Edwards was only 11 years old, a family friend told him that he looked like a young Elvis Presley. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until I was in my late 20s that I came to realize our voices were similar, too,\u201d Donny told The Laurel<\/i>. He began his professional Elvis tribute career 14 years ago. Since then, he\u2019s become an internationally renowned, award-winning performer who takes audiences through each era of Elvis\u2019 life and career.<\/p>\n
From April 7\u201317, Donny Edwards: An Authentic Heart & Soul Tribute to \u201cThe King\u201d<\/i> will travel to Flat Rock Playhouse mainstage. \u201cI try to stay with the most popular songs, but do sneak in a few obscure songs that die hard fans love as well,\u201d says Donny.<\/p>\n
Elvis\u2019 career spanned three decades, says Donny, who sings great hits from each period. \u201cI love to present songs that really launched his career and changed everything culturally in the 1950s, and then show how he progressed into a great vocalist and became the premier entertainer in the 1970s. This to me is essential to show the fans how truly amazing he was and the impact he left. Elvis wasn\u2019t a \u2018one hit wonder,\u2019 he kept churning out hits from 1956\u20131977.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the years, Donny has had the opportunity to work beside many of the original musicians who performed with Elvis. Among his favorites are DJ Fontana (Elvis\u2019 original drummer), Ray Walker and Gordon Stoker from the Jordanaires, as well as Estelle Brown and Myrna Smith from The Sweet Inspirations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you get to perform with Elvis\u2019 musicians it is a huge honor and I would always take in as much as possible from each experience, enjoying every minute of it all,\u201d he says. \u201cThe first time I sang with the Jordanaires, I basically cried.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to preparing for a show, Donny says that playing Elvis\u2019 music or one of his videos always helps him get in the zone.<\/p>\n
The Flat Rock Playhouse is at 2661 Greenville Highway in Flat Rock. Performances are Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets ($30) can be purchased by calling the box office at 828.693.0731 or visiting flatrockplayhouse.org<\/a>. Learn more at donnyedwardslive.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Donny Edwards was only 11 years old, a family friend told him that he looked like a young Elvis Presley. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until I was in my late 20s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":4318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,59,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","category-entertainmentandmusic","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\n