Jackson wins Elvis Tribute Artist contest

Published 1:00 pm Friday, February 2, 2018

LIVE OAK — The Music Hall was shaking all afternoon and evening Saturday at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park.

And Elvis had still not left the building.

But when he did, Elvis Tribute Artist Jerome Jackson of Dothan, Ala., took home first place in the Elvis I’ll Remember You Contest and $1,500.

Jackson, who has competed several times previously at the Ted “TeddyMac Elvis” McMullen Elvis Tribute Artist Competition held annually at the SOSMP for the last 13 years, sang attired in a black Elvis outfit in the afternoon competition then switched to a gorgeous white suit for the finals, imitated Elvis’ moves to the delight of the audience and paid tribute to Elvis Presley throughout the afternoon and evening to win out against the seven other original contestants.

Jackson, a DJ for WTVY 95.5 radio in Dothan, was presented a check by McMullen and invited back next year as a special guest to perform at the event.

The afternoon competition led to five artists being selected for the Saturday evening finals before a large audience. The five were chosen to compete one last time — Matt Cordell (Pidgeon Forge, Tenn.), Steven Gillis (Lake Mary), Jimmy Fields (Fort White) Damon Hendrix (Cumming, Ga.) and Jackson. Other contestants who competed were Vincent Grosso (Orlando), John Varner (Orlando) and Patrick Sebastian (Sanford).

Jackson, born in Dothan, comes from a non-musical family but at an early age he became interested in Elvis’ music before he even knew what Elvis looked like. Later, he tried country music and Nashville several times, but something just wasn’t right. In 2007, he found his calling and began singing tributes to Elvis. He performs in clubs, at Elvis Tribute Artist events, class reunions, fairs, weddings, anniversaries and any place he can show off his talent. Later this year in August he will again be a contestant in the world Elvis Tribute Artist competition in Memphis as a result of winning the SOSMP contest.

The weekend began Friday evening when contestants took to the stage to have a karaoke good time and entertain just for the fun of it before the seriousness of the competition began Saturday afternoon. Each night there was a large crowd of Elvis and Tribute Artist fans in attendance, including many who traveled from places like Georgia, Alabama and all over Florida, including Homestead.

Jacob Elder, 17, of Abbeville, S.C., was the youth winner. Liam Grosso, 15, of Orlando, took second place.