If you’ve ever wanted to spend Elvis Presley’s birthday in the place where he lived, this might be your year. Graceland, his old home in Memphis, opened tickets to the public today for its 2027 Elvis Birthday Celebration. The people who run it are calling the whole thing the start of a year of tributes.
Elvis, for anyone who needs the short version, grew up poor in Mississippi and Tennessee and became the biggest name in rock and roll. Graceland throws him a party every year around his January 8 birthday. This one is bigger than usual.
The celebration runs January 7 through 10 in Memphis. Graceland is billing it “Kick Off 50,” and it puts the invite plainly: “KICK OFF 50 AT ELVIS’ BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.”
Tickets went on sale today, on Wednesday, after an early window for Graceland members the day before.
So what’s actually on? There’s a Birthday Party Bash, a big fan celebration and a run of talks called “Conversations on Elvis.” A few events need their own separate ticket, like an “Elvis ’68” comeback night, a “Jailhouse Rock” singalong and dance party and a screening they’re calling “EPiC.” Any one of those would make a good weekend.
But there’s a single night that stands apart from the rest.
On Saturday, January 9, Graceland is staging “Elvis Presley in Concert Featuring the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.” Here’s how it works. Elvis is up on the big screen, singing, while a full symphony orchestra plays live in the hall behind him. You get his voice and their strings and horns together in one room, at the same moment. For a lot of fans that’s about as close as anyone can still get to standing in front of the man himself.
Then the weekend winds down soft. On Sunday, January 10, there’s a Sunday Morning Breakfast and then a Sunday Morning Gospel Sing. Gospel was the music Elvis loved most and sang his whole life, so ending there feels right.
If you’re thinking of going, the full packages aren’t cheap. The top “Pink Cadillac” package runs $745.00 and the “Blue Suede” one is $630.50, both all in. Graceland also notes, the way these things always do, that “All guests, events, and times are subject to change.” Worth a look at the fine print before you book a flight.
There’s no video of the 2027 weekend yet, because it hasn’t happened. Graceland has posted photos from past birthday celebrations, and those give you a real feel for the crowd, the candlelight and the fans who come from all over.
For the dates, the full list of events and the tickets, the celebration page at graceland.com/elvis-birthday has it all. And that January 9 symphony night is the one people are talking about.