Elvis Fans Will Have a Blue Christmas If They Miss These Events in Shreveport-Bossier

Elvis 1954 first performance on Louisiana Hayride. Courtesy of LSUS Archives and Special Collections, Noel Memorial Library.

Photo caption: Elvis 1954 first performance on the “Louisiana Hayride.” Courtesy of LSUS Archives and Special Collections, Noel Memorial Library.

This holiday season, Elvis Presley fans will have the opportunity to stand on the stage where Elvis made his radio debut and attend a Christmas tribute concert featuring members of Elvis’s band.

Throughout November and December, Shreveport Municipal Auditorium will offer ticketed, public Backstage Music Tours of the historic venue. The auditorium is a National Historic Landmark known internationally for its role in music history. The iconic venue was once home to the radio broadcast program the Louisiana Hayride. From 1948 to 1960, the radio program launched the musical careers of some of the greatest names in American rock and roll and country music history including Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and most notably Elvis Presley. On October 16, 1954, Elvis Presley made his national broadcast debut on the Louisiana Hayride.

An expert tour guide will share stories and songs of the stars that have graced the stage of Shreveport Municipal Auditorium since its completion in 1929. The Backstage Music Tours will be held at 2 p.m., Nov. 11, Dec. 2, and Dec. 9 and 6:30 p.m., Nov. 29.

Elvis fans should not miss the James Burton Christmas Concert: Memories of Elvis, 8 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Margaritaville Casino’s Paradise Theater. The concert will feature Elvis’s guitarist James Burton and Estelle Brown who was a member of Sweet Inspirations, a women’s gospel quartet that sang back-up for Elvis from 1969 until 1977. The group is also well-known for singing backup for Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Bee Gees.

General admission tickets are $30 and VIP tickets are $100. VIP ticket holders will have access to a 6 p.m. pre-show featuring an interview and Q&A with James Burton, Estelle Brown, and Sam Thompson, Elvis’s bodyguard.

For a complete list of holiday events in Shreveport-Bossier, visit www.HolidayTrailofLights.com/Shreveport-Bossier or request a Holly Jolly Handbook to Shreveport-Bossier by calling (800) 551-8682.