‘Christmas at Graceland’ Will Open Up Elvis Presley’s Home for Holiday Live Music Special
Written by djfrosty on September 7, 2023
It doesn’t have to be a “Blue Christmas” this year: NBC is set to celebrate Elvis Presley with the upcoming live music special Christmas at Graceland, executive produced by Elvis’ granddaughter Riley Keough, Billboard can exclusively announce.
The special will air Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and will be simulcast on Peacock.
“My family and I are elated to open the doors to Graceland in this first-of-its-kind special,” said Christmas at Graceland EP Keough; the Daisy Jones & The Six actress is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley, who died in January at age 54. “With intimate musical performances drawing inspiration from my grandfather Elvis’s cherished Christmases in Memphis, viewers will be invited to experience firsthand the magic that is Christmas at Graceland.”
According to a press release, Christmas at Graceland — which will air immediately after NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center on Nov. 29 (8 p.m. ET/PT) — will “feature music’s biggest stars celebrating the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, his music and his favorite time of year, in an unprecedented holiday special live from his iconic home, Graceland.”
Performers will be announced closer to the air date.
“To celebrate the holidays at Graceland, and be a part of the King’s legacy, is both an honor and absolute dream come true,” said Jen Neal, executive vice president, live events and specials, NBCUniversal Media Group. “We thank Riley and her family for allowing all of us to visit her grandfather’s iconic home and share an intimate musical experience that Elvis would’ve truly loved.”
Presley has a legendary catalog of Christmas music, with two hits on the 2011-launched Holiday 100 songs chart: “Blue Christmas,” which peaked at No. 11 in 2013, and “Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane),” which hit No. 22 in 2015. His album It’s Christmas Time (a 1985 reissue of Presley’s 1957 release Elvis’ Christmas Album) reached No. 2 on Top Holiday Albums in 2015 — his highest-charting project on the tally; it also peaked at No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart in 2018.
Christmas at Graceland will be produced by Done + Dusted, Authentic Studios and Felix Culpa, a production company co-founded by Keough and Gina Gammell. Executive producers from Done + Dusted are Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan and Ian Stewart. Colin Smeeton, Matthew Gross and Marc Rosen will serve as executive producers on behalf of Authentic Studios. Felix Culpa’s Keough and Gammell will also executive produce alongside Graceland’s Joel Weinshanker. Done + Dusted’s Patrick Menton will co-executive produce.