‘Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist’ Shawn Klush of Pittston performs at Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on April 8
From a press release:
It was announced today that Edd Raineri will present Shawn Klush, the ultimate Elvis Presley tribute artist, at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, April 8 at 8 p.m., featuring Elvis’ own background singers, The Sweet Inspirations.
Tickets, which are $29.50, $39.50, $42.59, and $49.50, plus fees, go on sale this Monday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. and will be available through the Kirby Center box office (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100.
In just a short time, Shawn Klush has emerged as the world’s top professional Elvis tribute artist. Born and raised in the small coal mining town of Pittston, his love for music led him to begin imitating his musical idol, Elvis Presley. He performed in the famous Poconos region, followed by a tour of Canada where he entered and won the $5,000 prize in the “Worldwide Elvis Competition” in Montreal. This caught the attention of the award-winning Las Vegas show “Legends in Concert” where, in 2004, he starred as Elvis in their Branson, Missouri production. He also alternated in their Las Vegas and Atlantic City show rooms. Each January, he stars in the “Elvis Birthday Tribute Tour,” an Elvis extravaganza with Elvis’ own musicians, singers, and friends, in major venues in multiple cities.
Klush has released three CDs and a CD single. He has performed with Elvis’ closest friends, musicians, and singers, such as JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, The Jordanaires, The Imperials, DJ Fontana, Charlie Hodge, Jerry Scheff, The Sweet Inspirations, Joe Guercio, Jerry Schilling, and Joe Esposito. He portrayed Elvis in the hit TV miniseries “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” which aired on CBS and VH1.
Just two days before Elvis’ 70th birthday, Klush became grand champion at the $25,000 “World Elvis Tribute Artist Competition.” He then received the “People’s Choice Award” from Gibson Guitar Corporation in Nashville for “Best Concert Elvis” and was named the “World’s Greatest Elvis” by 6.5 million international viewers on BBC1 television in the United Kingdom. Finally, on the 30th anniversary of Elvis’ passing, Klush was named the first-ever “Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist” by Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis, Tennessee. He was also a featured musical guest on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Recently, Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger chose Klush to portray Elvis in their HBO series “Vinyl.”
Read NEPA Scene’s review of Klush’s performance at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre last year here.
