For the second straight year, Elvis fans were completely captivated with over one dozen tributes to the King of Rock-N-Roll at Legends In Concert in Surfside Beach, SC.

This 2009 version of the competition featured contestants from all over the United States. Elvis tributes came from as far west as Texas to bring their special brand of Elvis to the throng of Elvis-hungry fans.

The evening’s festivities were emceed by resident South Strand favorite, Steve Fairchild, who portrays Garth Brooks throughout the country at Legends In Concert venues. Steve opened the one night only engagement with an energized and Garth Brooks-ified version of  Elvis’ “That’s Alright Mama”, immediately drawing the crowd into an Elvis-filled evening.The evening also featured Kevin Mills, who made two special appearances throughout the evening bringing his Elvis magic to the crowd with impeccable versions of ”Polk Salad Annie” and “My Way”.

 The competition opened with the return of last year’s Myrtle Beach contest winner, Michael Sokolik, Jr., who brought local fans to their feet with an energetic & youthful version of Elvis. From there, the night shined on with a dozen more Elvis acts who belted out spirited versions of all of Elvis’ hits from the rare ”Edge of Reality”, to the spiritual ”You Gave Me A Mountain”, and the ever-popular ”Suspicious Minds”.

When the dust settled at the end of round one, only Nathan Belt of Grapevine, Texas, Michael Sokolik, Jr., of Socastee, SC, and Vince King of Pearland, Texas were left standing as the final three. Each of the three then performed two more Elvis hits for the judges. Michael once again took the stage with non-stop movement ala Elvis’ early days and he was followed by Vince King, who provided the crowd with a well-balanced approach to the King of Rock; mixing both melodic vocals and a polished resemblance to Elvis. But the evening belonged to Nathan Belt, who performed third in the final round. Nathan opened his set with a breathtaking rendition of “Hurt” that kept the capacity crowd in awe and resulted in an extended standing ovation. Nathan’s vocals soared to peaks that, at times, seemed almost effortless on his part.  Tonight, Nathan had the complete package; Elvis swagger, towering vocals, and a charm only Elvis himself could exude.

The judges votes were in!  Nathan Belt  (pictured above) saddled in first place followed by fellow Texan, Vince King, who placed a close second. Michael Sokolik, Jr.  rounded out the top three finalists.

As the curtain fell on Myrtle Beach’s second annual Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Preliminary round, the entire ensemble of Elvis tributes treated the crowd to one final Elvis anthem, “Viva Las Vegas”. 

Shortly after 11:30pm, all the “Elvi had the left building” , capping off the Fabulous Fifties Festival weekend which is certain to become an enduring tradition along the Grand Strand for years to come.