Teenage sensation Charlie Gaylard blew everyone away with his debut performance on the main stage in Cooke Park at the 2024 Parkes Elvis Festival, and he is back after a year of growth, progression and practice, and this time around people can expect to see something that will take it to a whole new level.
Charlie Gaylard grew up in the small Victorian town of Colac and always enjoyed the arts, when he was in primary school he would always partake in school talent shows and anything revolving around performing. It wasn’t until he watched the Baz Lurman Elvis film that his passion for Elvis‘s music began.
When he was younger, his parents couldn’t take Charlie out in public without him wearing a superhero costume or putting on a fake voice, he was always emulating other people and that’s how the whole Elvis thing started “I was simply fooling around and learning a couple of songs that I enjoyed never realising that I could take this passion to bigger heights. I never knew there was a community out there that enjoyed what I was doing” said Charlie.
Charlie spent a year and a half learning songs working on the voice but he never had the expectation that it would lead to somewhere bigger. The moment he realised that he could take it seriously was when he went and saw Jack Gatto perform at the Geelong Elvis Festival in August of 2023.
“I didn’t realise it but the night that I performed on the main stage at The Parkes Elvis Festival changed my life forever. I think back to that moment in time and it doesn’t feel real.”
“Whenever I’m not performing I like to do normal teenage stuff. Hang out with my mates, play video games and just enjoy life.”
“The next thing that I’d like to accomplish is going over to the States but winning the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition would be nice and I’d like to see if there are more possibilities to this industry. I want to do something that’s never been done before, that’s my big ambition.” said Charlie