Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and former Elvis Presley guitarist, James Burton, will serve as Honorary Chair of the 39th Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival which will be held on July 20th & 21st, 2018 in Prather Coliseum on the NSU campus.

In addition to serving as Chair, Burton will be inducted into the Louisiana Folklife Hall of Master Folk Artists and will make several appearances at the Festival.

First, Burton will appear at the welcome ceremony at 12:15 at which time he and his fellow members of the 2018 Louisiana Folklife Hall of Master Folk Artists class will be inducted.

They include Burton’s fellow band mate in Elvis Presley’s band, Estelle Brown of the Sweet Inspirations, artist Clementine Hunter, musician and craftsman Hilton Lytie, musician Jim Oertling, and Elvis Presley’s original drummer D. J. Fontana along with local musician/promoter/philanthropist Rodney Harrington.

Burton will next appear along with Ms. Brown in a session entitled “Memories of the King” from 2:30 to 3:15 during which Burton and Ms. Brown will discuss their legendary careers and particularly their time travelling and recording with Elvis Presley. Harrington will act as moderator of this session.

From 6:30 to 7:15, Burton, who was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 100 guitarists in Rock & Roll history, and widely known as “the Master of the Telecaster,” will conduct a guitar question and answer session.

That evening, Burton will appear along with Estelle Brown and Grammy winner and master folk artist Jo-El Sonnier, as guests of Johnny Earthquake and The Moondogs in the Festival’s grand finale concert. The concert will include a tribute to Elvis Presley featuring a recreation of the King’s Vegas-style show.

For a full schedule of events, to purchase tickets and for more information, go to louisianafolklife.nsula.edu

Don’t miss this great event!!
We look forward to seeing you there.