“Elvis, Orbison, & Cash" at the Ohnward Fine Arts Center -- December 31.
Saturday, December 31, 7 p.m.
Ohnward Fine Arts Center, 1215 East Platt Street, Maquoketa IA
A celebration of three musical legends whose careers all effectively started with Sam Phillips at Sun Studios, the concert event Elvis, Orbison, & Cash is set to delight New Year's Eve crowds at the Ohnward Fine Arts Center, the Maquoketa venue proud to host three gifted tribute artists in Joseph Hall as Elvis Presley, Jesse Aron as Roy Orbison, and David Allen as Johnny Cash.
Boasting favorite hits from amazing Sun Records icons, Elvis, Orbison, & Cash is an energetic and heartfelt tribute show that has captivated audiences with such timeless tunes as “Suspicious Minds," “Pretty Woman,” and “Walk the Line," delivering a vintage time-travel tale through the genres of rock, gospel, and country music. David Allen rendition of Johnny Cash will open the show, followed by Jesse Aron's uncanny channeling of Roy Orbison, and after the night's 20-minute intermission, Joseph Hall will headline a full second act of Elvis favorites.
Born in 1984, Joseph Hall has been paying tribute to the legacy of Elvis Presley since 2006 and began appearing on NBC's America's Got Talent in 2008, eventually making six TV appearances viewed by more than 90 million people and placing as one of the competition's top 10 finalists. Since then, Hall has performed worldwide in venues ranging from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Porthcawl, Wales, and among the numerous plaudits Hall has received over the past decade is the “Spirit of Elvis Award” award from Elvis Presley Enterprises. A resident of Branson, Missouri, Hall states, “My goal is to capture the essence of Elvis Presley, to pay tribute with the utmost respect to his legacy, his music, his image, and – above all else – his devoted fans.”
Jesse Aron is a two-time world champion tribute artist from Green Bay Wisconsin. His career began in 1997 when curiosity got the best of him at an open-mic night at a local restaurant in Edgerton, Wisconsin, and since then, Aron has won and placed in many contests nationally since beginning his professional career. Although the Ohnward Fine Arts Center event will find him portraying Roy Orbison, Aron, in 2009, won his first world championship in Memphis Tennessee at the Images of The King World Championship Competition, the longest running Elvis Tribute Artist Contest in the world. Four years later, Aron was named Grand Champion at the Collingwood Elvis Festival in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, the world’s largest Elvis festival and competition, and for his tribute work, the artist has received two letters of commendation from governors of Wisconsin.
A native of Dallas, Texas, David Allen, like Hall and Aron, began his singing career as an Elvis Presley tribute artist. Although Allen currently still performs as Elvis and is ranked in the top 10 impersonators in the world by Elvis Presley Enterprises, he decided to expand his musical career after being told countless times that he also had a knack for sounding just like Johnny Cash. He currently tours the country with Ring of Fire Live, a production that brings audiences back to the early '50s when Cash was just hitting the scene with his razor-sharp sound and lightning fast playing. In an effort to stay true to the singular Cash sound, the show finds Hall performing alongside a three-piece band comprised solely of drums, bass, and guitar.
Elvis, Orbison, & Cash will be performed in Maquoketa on New Year's Eve, admission to the 7 p.m. concert event is $30-35, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)652-9815 and visiting OhnwardFineArtsCenter.com.
