Elvis Presley is having a birthday party, of sorts, at in Sag Harbor.
On Friday, "The King" is the subject of the program, "," an evening mixed with of film footage of live Presley performances and his contemporaries followed by a dance concert. Local musicians Gene Casey & the Lone Sharks will perform.
The tribute continues on Saturday with a screening of Presley's well-known flick, "." The screening is part of The Picture Show series at Bay Street. Both events are designed to commemorate Presley's birthday on Jan. 8, 1935.
The Elvis weekend draws on two separate series to properly celebrate the King of Rock 'n Roll. LEGENDS is a new series created and presented by Joe Lauro of Sag Harbor, a filmmaker who collects and licenses film footage of historic films and musical theater through his company, Historic Films.
In a creative project of his own, Lauro decided to make short films compiled from historic footage of music greats. LEGENDS launched at Bay Street in May 2010 with programs focused on rock stars, jazz and blues icons, divas and rock pioneers.
"I love the idea of sharing the film clip edits and making something out of them," Lauro said. "I live in Sag Harbor and work with historic performance footage. I've always wanted to do something with the theater that's right down the street. It seems nature to combine performance footage with a performance theater."
To commemorate Presley's birthday, Lauro decided to make a tribute film. Not wanting to focus a full hour on Elvis, he turned to Presley's contemporaries. Friday's film features fellow Sun Record recording stars Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. All four legends are the subject of the current Broadway musical, "Million Dollar Quartet."
Footage includes a 15 minute segment of Lewis performing in Europe in 1962.
"It's amazing," Lauro said. "Lewis is completely over the top. It should be an exciting program."
Moving the music from recorded to live, Casey & The Lone Sharks takes over when the film wraps up. The Lone Sharks are known for their unique brand of classic rock and American roots music. The band will play a mix of originals, Elvis' songs, and songs Presley-inspired that Casey wrote.
The group have been an East End staple since 1988 when they had their first show at Burke's Roadhouse in North Sea, according to their website. Since then, the band has performed at venues including The Bottom Line, the Waldorf Astoria's ballroom. One of their original songs was part of the television show, "Justified," on FX Network.
Combining Elvis with the Lone Sharks is a great fit, Lauro said. "They're just about the best American roots band on the East Coast," Lauro said.
Lauro is more than familiar with the band. He played bass for the Lone Sharks for about five years, performing 120 gigs, he said. He'll be stepping in to play with his former band mates on Friday.
On Saturday, Lauro with his current band, Who Dat Loungers at the . The nine-piece group is a New Orleans-style band.
Tickets for LEGENDS: Elvis and Friends are $20. Tickets will be sold only at the door the evening of the event. The show begins at 8 p.m.
Tickets for "Blue Hawaii" are $5 at the door. The Picture Show has a $25 "Dinner and a Movie" prix fixe dinner package with the .
