Graceland Launches 'Graceland Excursions' Offering Guided Music Experiences

Elvis Presley's Graceland has announced the launch of Graceland Excursions, offering unprecedented music and entertainment day-trip experiences, as guests tour like the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" in a luxury motorcoach. Graceland has custom-designed these interactive music adventures to serve as the ideal complement to the Graceland Mansion experience in Memphis, Tennessee. Initial tours will include trips to Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Presley's birthplace, and the Mississippi Delta region -- known as the Birthplace of the Blues. The luxury coach ride to and from each destination will be a big part of the experience, as Graceland tour guides and Archives staff take guests on a fun musical journey, celebrating the music that influenced Elvis Presley and exploring the genres that still inspire today's most popular performers. Graceland Excursions will preview with select dates in December 2017 and early January 2018, with an official launch of its regular, weekly schedule beginning January 12, 2018.

The Graceland Excursions Tupelo trip will include Elvis' Birthplace, encompassing the legendary two-room "shotgun" house where Elvis was born, his childhood church, and the Birthplace Museum; Tupelo Hardware, where Elvis' mother Gladys purchased Elvis' first guitar; and the Tupelo Fairgrounds, where Elvis performed homecoming concerts in 1956 and 1957.

The Graceland Excursions Mississippi Delta trip will follow U.S. 61, known as the "Blues Highway," and make stops at the Gateway to the Blues Museum in Tunica, Mississippi; the legendary "Crossroads" and Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi; Dockery Farms, widely regarded as where the Delta Blues genre was born; and the state-of-the-art, GRAMMY Museum in Cleveland, Mississippi, featuring interactive exhibits that showcase Mississippi's important musical heritage and celebrate all genres of music. On-board entertainment and video programming will entertain guests as they travel by luxury coach to each musical landmark and museum.

Graceland Excursions is available to the general public and sold separately from the Graceland attraction tour experience. Tour schedules and ticket purchase information, currently with special introductory pricing, are available at Graceland.com/Excursions or by phone, toll-free, at 1-800-238-2000 or at 901-332-3322. Tours will depart from The Guest House at Graceland resort, just steps away from Graceland Mansion. Following special preview days in December and early January, Tupelo trips will run every Friday morning, beginning January 12, 2018 and Mississippi Delta trips will run every Saturday morning, beginning January 13, 2018.

Special Preview Graceland Excursions Trips:

Tupelo:

Saturday, December 16, 2017: 7:30 am departure, return by 3:30 pm

Monday, January 8, 2018: 11:30 am departure, return by 6:30 pm

Mississippi Delta:

Friday, December 29, 2017: 8:30 am departure, return by 6:30 pm

Thursday, January 4, 2018: 8:30 am departure, return by 6:30 pm

Regular Graceland Excursions Trips, Beginning January 12 and 13, 2018:

Tupelo: Fridays, 8:30 am departure, return by 3:30 pm

Mississippi Delta: Saturdays, 8:30 am departure, return by 6:30 pm

Tupelo, Mississippi - Birthplace of Elvis Presley
Every Friday starting January 12, 2018
While Elvis Presley became the biggest name in music history and achieved worldwide fame and fortune, his roots in the Northeast Mississippi city of Tupelo were humble. Guests will experience the rural setting of Elvis' upbringing and see where it all began in the two-room house where the King of Rock 'n' Roll was born on January 8, 1935, the church he attended in his youth and see artifacts from his modest beginnings.

Elvis' Birthplace is designated as an historic landmark by the State of Mississippi. The house, built by his father for $180, draws visitors from all over the world and is part of the 15-acre Elvis Presley Park. In addition to the Birthplace, guests will also tour the Elvis Presley Museum, Elvis' childhood church, the "Walk of Life" trail tracing Elvis' career and personal life, and see the "Elvis at 13" statue, the Elvis Story Wall and Fountain of Life, representing the 13 years that Elvis lived in Tupelo before moving to Memphis with his family.

The Graceland Excursions Tupelo tour also features a stop at Tupelo Hardware Company - the hardware store where Elvis' mother Gladys purchased his first guitar and put music in the hands of the boy who grew to become a musical legend. This tour will also travel by significant landmarks around Tupelo including The Tupelo Fairgrounds, the Elvis Homecoming Statue and schools that Elvis attended.
Approximate length of tour: 7 hours.

Musical Landmarks of the Mississippi Delta
Every Saturday starting January 13, 2018
Rock 'n' Roll has its roots in the music of the Mississippi Delta -- and Blues and R&B artists such as B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Ike Turner. The Graceland Excursions Mississippi Delta tour will make several stops that will trace the influences that inspired the creation of Rock 'n' Roll music. Expert tour guides will narrate this day-long adventure, visiting landmarks that celebrate the music and the people of the region including the Gateway to the Blues Museum in Tunica; the legendary "Crossroads" and the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale; The GRAMMY Museum Mississippi in Cleveland, and other notable, musical places along the Mississippi Delta.

Guests will take a detour down the backroads and explore the deep roots of Blues culture and history, while reliving a musical revolution powered by raw emotion.

First stop is the Gateway to the Blues Museum, where guests will learn the remarkable story of how the Blues was born and the role Tunica and the Delta played in building the genre's legacy. Guests will experience interactive exhibits, artwork and more - including a recording studio where they'll learn the basics of Blues music.

Then on to the city of Clarksdale, located at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 ("the Crossroads"), and the surrounding Delta region, which is known as "the land where the Blues began." This famous intersection sports a trio of electric guitars on a pole, which marks the spot where legend says musician Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil for the ability to play the Blues.

Visitors to The Delta Blues Museum will explore the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form. The collection of artifacts at the museum includes musical instruments, recordings, sheet music, posters, photographs, costumes, folk art and much more. One of the largest pieces of the collection is the actual cabin where legendary Blues artist Muddy Waters once lived.

The GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, in Cleveland, MS, is dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of music, and the cultural context from which it emerges, while casting a focused spotlight on the deep musical roots of Mississippi. The museum features educational programming, engaging multimedia presentations, and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a Mississippi-centric display that introduces visitors to the impact of Mississippi's songwriters, producers and musicians on the traditional and modern music landscape.

Finally, guests will explore sweet Southern Sounds at Dockery Farms, where musicians were said to have invented the Blues genre around the turn of the 20th century. It's a mecca to Blues enthusiasts and the home to Charley Patton, the "Father of the Blues."

Approximate length of tour: 10 hours.

About Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

Elvis Presley's Graceland, in Memphis, is music's most important and beloved landmark, with hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world visiting the historic home each year. Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) manages the operations of Graceland and its related properties, including Elvis Presley's Memphis, Graceland's new entertainment and exhibition complex over 200,000 square feet in size; the AAA Four-Diamond Guest House at Graceland 450-room hotel; and the Graceland Archives, featuring thousands of artifacts from Elvis' home and career. EPE also produces and licenses Elvis-themed live events, tours and attractions worldwide. Graceland Holdings LLC, led by managing partner Joel Weinshanker, is the majority owner of EPE. In 2015, Graceland was named the world's "Best Musical Attraction" and "Best Historic Southern Attraction" in the USA Today 10 Best Reader's Choice Awards and in 2013, voted the #1 "Iconic American Attraction" in the same poll. For more information on EPE and Graceland, visit www.graceland.com.

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