2023 Elvis and Co Contest Results

November 9, 2023

The 2023 Elvis and Co Contest Resembled an Ultimate Final

The 2023 Elvis and Co Contest is now on the books and it resembled an Ultimate Final Round more than a qualifier. The judges had a near impossible job – we expect to see most of these men competing at Graceland during the 2024 Elvis Week!

For more information on Elvis Presley Enterprise’s Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, click HERE.

For an updated list of qualifying contests click HERE and for an updated list of ETAs who have qualified, check out the Graceland website.

Our 12 Professional Competitors

Elvis & Co was proud to bring together 12 of the World’s Leading Professional Elvis Tribute Artists. Although some people may have had their favourites, it was impossible to guess who would make it to the finals let alone who the winner would be.

Our competitors included:

From Europe:

Louis Brown (England)

Emilio Santoro (England)

Casper Slee (Netherlands)

Oliver Steinhoff (Germany)

From the U.S.:

Nick Armstrong (Tennessee)

Brooke Wright (Tennessee)

From Asia:

Toki Toyokazu (Japaon)

From Canada:

Lance Dobinson (Ontario)

Sylvain Leduc (Quebec)

Bruno Nesci (Ontario)

Anthony Joseph (Ontario)

Mat Shank (Quebec)

Our 6 Finalists

Emilio Santoro, Oliver Steinhoff, Sylvain Leduc, Mat Shank, Brooke Wright & Bruno Nesci (Left to Right)

And then there were 3!

The 2023 Elvis and Co Contest Winner Advancing to the Semi-Finals at Gracelance in Aug 2024

The results of this contest were very tight. The difference between 1st and 2nd place was a mere 3 points. In the end, the winner of our inaugural Elvis & Co contest is

Bruno Nesci.

Elvis & Co’s contest is sanctioned by Elvis Presley Enterprises as a preliminary round of their Ultimate Elvis Contest. The winners of all preliminary contests held worldwide advance to the semi-finals during Elvis Week at Graceland in Aug 2024. Bruno will be competing alongside the other winners and hopefully will advance to the finals held a few days later to win once again and earn the title ‘the next best in the world.’

Good Luck Bruno!

2023 Elvis & Co Winner – Bruno Nesci

Our Elvis and Co Festival Ambassador

March 22, 2023

Elvis & Co would like to announce our Festival Ambassador – Rosemarie O’Brien. Many of you will know Rosemarie well. As the General Manager of the first, largest and longest running Elvis Festival – the Collingwood Elvis Festival – she knows a thing or two about festivals and more importantly, how to deliver incredible experiences for attendees at music festivals.

Photo by collingwood.ca

Why A Elvis and Co Festival Ambassador?

At Elvis & Co, we recognize that we are in the hospitality business. Yes, we will put on spectacular shows with talent second to none. But we want Elvis & Co to be more than a collection of concerts. We aim to offer numerous other events and activities that you can take part in (or not take part in) at your leisure. We also aim to make you feel welcome and part of the Elvis & Co community.

Everyone is New to Elvis & Co

This is our inaugural year. Therefore, everyone is new to Elvis & Co. We’re hoping that you will be able to look back many years from now and say “I was at the very first Elvis & Co.” And hopefully, you will also be able to look back and not be able to count the friends that you met there, friends that you look forward to seeing every year and maybe even at other events throughout the year. Many of us understand this from attending other music festivals. Many of us understand this from our repeated attendance at Collingwood.

We Want to Make Sure You Don't Miss A Thing!

(Unless You Want To)

Because everyone is new, everyone will have questions about the location of events, shows and other activities. We don’t want you to miss something because you didn’t know it was happening or couldn’t find the location it was taking place. For that reason, we have appointed our Festival Ambassador.

What Will the Festival Ambassador Do?

The Elvis and Co Festival Ambassador will lead our concierge team – a team of Welcome Volunteers that will welcome you, help you find your way around and answer your questions. In short, help you have a great experience at Elvis & Co while getting the most out of your weekend.

In addition, our Ambassador, due to her immense experience in the Festival World, will provide us with guidance and help us to ensure that our weekend surpasses your expectations.

Why Rosemarie?

For those of you who know Rosemarie,

this will not even be a question.

For those of you who don’t,

I am pleased to introduce her to you.

Rosemarie O’Brien with Priscilla Presley. Collingwood Elvis Festival, 2014.

Rosemarie O’Brien began her work with the Collingwood Elvis Festival in 1998 and was the General Manager of the festival through its 25^th Anniversary in 2019. She was the person at the helm. Everything that the Collingwood Festival became grew out of Rosemarie’s imagination. She dreamed it and she made it come true. She created a space for amateur performers to be nurtured and in doing so helped to propel many into successful entertainment careers. Rosemarie is a ‘get it done’ kind of person. She is also a great community builder. She built an incredible team around her that was equally good at follow through and loved participating in a great event. Rosemarie put the Collingwood Elvis Festival on the map. For many who live outside of Collingwood, the Town is synonymous with the Festival.

In addition to her work with the Collingwood Elvis Festival, Rosemarie has served as Festival & Events Ontario President and Awards Chairperson, an ETA competition judge and a volunteer at numerous events and organizations. She is also a singer / songwriter / recording artist as well as the co-owner and partner of Creative Gals Productions with Elena Chisholm. Rosemarie continues to work with the Town of Collingwood as Festivals Co-ordinator.

John Lennon is famous (among other things) for saying

Before Elvis, there was nothing.

Similarly, those in the Elvis Festival world can often be heard saying

Before Collingwood, there was nothing.

Yearly Archives: 2023