Elvis Presley was honored Wednesday night (Nov. 29) with NBC’s inaugural Christmas at Graceland special, executive produced by the late legend’s granddaughter, Daisy Jones & The Six star Riley Keough.
The live televised concert marked the first of its kind to ever be filmed from inside the Elvis’ famous Memphis estate, and featured performances from several A-list artists. Most of them put their own spin on one of Elvis’ many hits, although a couple sang some classic non-Elvis Christmas tunes. All of them, however, ushered in the holiday season by singing in front of various festive backdrops set up on the grounds of Graceland.
The production comes at an interesting time in Elvis’ legacy, following in the footsteps of two nearly back-to-back major motion pictures about The King’s life. Earlier this year, Sofia Coppola’s film Priscilla — executive produced by the musician’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley, whose memoir Elvis and Me inspired the screenplay — portrayed Elvis in a much less reverent light than Baz Luhrmann’s rosy 2022 Elvis biopic.
Christmas at Graceland is also marked by the January death of Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ only child and the mother of Riley and Benjamin Keough, and twins Harper and Finley Lockwood. A distinguished singer-songwriter in her own right, she passed away at 54 years old due to complications from a bariatric surgery she’d received years prior, according to the autopsy report.
With that in mind, it makes sense that Graceland may have needed a bit of extra cheer this year. Up to the task were Lana Del Rey, Post Malone, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, War and Treaty, Alanis Morissette and John Legend, with Riley herself appearing onscreen occasionally.
If you missed the special as it aired live, don’t worry: The full event is now streaming on Peacock. Or, see below for videos of all the Christmas at Graceland performances.
