Taylor Hicks – ElvisFest Tupelo MS

More recaps, this one from Donna who  saw Taylor  Hicks at the Elvis Fest in Tupelo MI…

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Momma and I got into Tupelo about 1030am Saturday morning. It was too soon to check into our hotel room but we wanted to scope out the area so we took a walk down the main street. It turned out that there was a parade at 11am so we found some shade by a tree and sat down and watched. It was great..they had Elvis Fest Beauty Queens from tiny tots to their teens. They had some great floats. Elvis impersonators waved to the crowd all smiles. Someone even painted their poodle bright pink for the parade and had it wearing a leather jacket!

After the parade we decided to find some lunch. We stopped at a bar and grill called Benjamins and while we were there they had the entertainment of a guy singing cover tunes just him and his acoustic guitar. I wish I could remember his name. He had a beautiful voice. He did great covers of Fire and Rain (one
of my faves by James Taylor) and Margaritaville among other tunes. After lunch we headed down the road to where the Elvis impersonators were on stage having a contest. They were doing 2 songs each. Some did younger Elvis and some wore the jumpsuits as Elvis did in later years. Momma and I agreed that our favorite was a young Elvis that did Rock A Hula. He looked and sounded a lot like him. The Elvis competition ended up on a rain delay for a bit after we got checked in to our room. I wish he had had the chance to watch some more of them.

After resting for a bit, we set out to find some supper. We walked across to PB Loco while we were waiting for the rain to let up. There were a couple of young sisters I’d say 9 and 7 that were related to the owners or managers. They told momma and I
that they were going to see Taylor Hicks that night and they couldn’t wait. I told them they he puts on a great show and they would have a really good time. They were in awe that mom and I had seen him before. I felt really cool for a brief moment in time LOL.

We got over to the Front Street stage about 715ish right before the first local band took the stage. It was a young Christian group called Derek Stone who had won the battle of the bands the previous night. They were talented young kids. They had kind of a Daughtry-vibe to me. The next band was a local band called Bliss. They were REALLY good. Momma and I really enjoyed them and plan on ordering their cd. You can hear them at blissrocks

Finally, it came time for Taylor to take the stage. The crowd was huge and they went wild. Lots of men and women, young and old for those that keep track. A few obvious SPers as well ;)

 Vocally, Taylor was the best I had seen him. I saw him back in August with the AI tour and in March with his solo tour. Both times he had been battling illnesses but still put on a great show. This time around he was with LMBO. It was a high energy show..lots of dancing, lots of guitar, lots of harmonica. He did Hell of A Day, Hold On To Your Love, In Your Time, awesome covers of What’d I Say and Feelin’ Alright by Joe Cocker. His friend from
Spoonful James played with them and Taylor had him sing a song called Mississippi for the crowd in which Taylor did some backup vocals and harmonica.

There was lots of tagging in the songs as well but I get so lost in the music that I can’t keep up. After closing with Ray Charles What’d I Say..the crowd brought him back for an encore with Soul Thing. I have always stated that I enjoy all the facets of Taylor and Saturday night just cemented that for me. The Idol tour, the solo tour and the LMBO show all had a different vibe and energy but they were all awesome shows. Like him or not, the man is an
entertainer who gives his all to the audience.  

After Taylor left the stage..about 2/3 of the crowd left before the closing band from Memphis, Ingram Hill came on. They were really good and those that left missed out. I have enjoyed their music for several years. My brother who lives in Memphis turned
me onto their music. He knew them from the club scene there. You can check out their music at ingramhillmusic

Anyhow..we had an awesome time! Can’t wait to see Taylor again next month. After traveling 3 hours 3 times to see him he is coming just over an hour away outside of Memphis. Can’t miss that ;) I highly recommend any of the above bands if they come near you all :)

About mj santilli 34830 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!