Outback Elvis The story of a festival, its fans & a town called Parkes

Where do thousands of people in wigs, jumpsuits and fake Priscilla eyelashes go each January to swelter in 42-degree heat as they celebrate The King? Parkes, of course – 365 kilometres west of Sydney – for the annual Parkes Elvis Festival. But how, and why, did this sleepy town get all shook up by Elvis? Written by two long-time fans of the festival, Outback Elvis introduces the local characters, the lookalikes, the impersonators and the tribute artists – and the town that made this big hunk o’ Elvis love possible.

John Connell is professor of geography at the University of Sydney. John Connell and Chris Gibson have been enthusiastically following and participating in the Parkes Elvis Festival since 2002, and have published a large body of work on music festivals in Australia. Chris Gibson is a professor of human geography at the University of Wollongong and a musician. Chris Gibson and John Connell co-authored books include Music Festivals and Regional Development in Australia (2014), Festival Places (2011), Music and Tourism: On the Road Again (2005) and Sound Tracks: Popular Music, Identity and Place (2003).