‘Christmas with the Nashville King’ brings Bristol’s John Beardsley

Bristol native John Beardsly brings his show "Christmas with the Nashville King" to the Rockwell Theater this weekend. | Promotional photo

Posted By: David Fortier December 15, 2023

By David Fortier

For his return to Bristol and the first stage he performed on, John Beardsley has written an entirely new show based on the one he performs in Nashville.

“The unique thing is that besides singing the songs, I tell stories and the history behind some of the songs. I’ll include some of Elvis’ favorite and most famous Christmas songs as well as some of his most popular hits,” Beardsley said on Thursday about “Christmas with the Nashville King.”

Beardsley, a St. Paul Catholic High School graduate, made his way to Nashville almost 24 years ago. Since then, he has performed as Elvis Presley, in almost 1,200 shows.

“We hit the ground running,” he said about the transition he and Darlene, his wife, made all those years ago. “We were embraced and encouraged by the Nashville Visitor’s Center, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grayline Tours, which helped us establish may partnerships to achieve continuous success for many years.”

Coming back to Bristol is a thrill, though.

John Beardsley performs in his Nashville show. | Promotional photo

“I’m so excited to be back in Bristol,” Beardsley said. “This was the first stage I ever performed on.”

He has family here, and they will be coming out for the show — his mom, brother, sisters, brother-in-law, nephew, as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Some family members will be coming from out of state.

In addition, some loyal fans of his show in Nashville will be traveling from other states to see this one, he said.

Being home, though, Beardsley said, he is looking forward to sharing his experiences over the years at different times during the show. It makes this one special.

“I’ll be sharing a little bit about the neat experiences and things we get to be a part of in Nashville,” he said.

“Christmas with the Nashville King,” starring Beardsley at The Rockwell as part of the Downtown Live series of shows, has two performances, the first on Saturday, Dec. 16, with the doors opening at 6 p.m. and the second on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2 p.m.

Tickets on a limited basis are available for both shows. They may be purchased at www.bristolrec.com while they last.

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