LINDEN — Jesse Garron has been performing his Elvis tribute show since 1997.
He’ll be performing a free show at Raymond Wood Bauer Promenade, 400 North Wood Ave., on Tuesday, July 14, at 7 p.m. The show is part of the 2026 Summer Entertainment Series. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Garron first became interested in Elvis Presley when he was 4 years old. His father had an old record player. When Garron heard “Suspicious Minds” for the first time, he asked his dad who it was. “I fell in love with his voice,” said Garron. “Every time I heard him on the radio, I was glued to it.”
When he went to Sears with his sister, he brought the Elvis Presley 8-track, “As Recorded at Madison Square Garden.”
“I was just staring at him on the cover,” he said. “I’d listen to him all the time.”
Garron said it’s easy for him to sound like Elvis. He said, “My tone is his tone. I don’t try too hard.”
In high school, he was approached by friends who wanted him to sing in a talent show. He said he would, but only if they did an Elvis show. “The place was packed,” he said. “They were screaming. They called me back for an encore.”
Garron continued performing his Elvis tributes. He stopped for a while, then his wife, Julie Malewski, encouraged him to get back into it. Malewski handles the business end of his career.
He started the Elvis tributes in 1997 and success happened fast. Garron’s tribute shows have shared the bill with national acts such as Little Big Town, Brett Michaels, Franki Valli, The Commodores and Wayne Newton in venues all across America.
Selling out at the Tropicana in Atlantic City was one of the biggest highlights of Garron’s career. “That was pretty incredible,” he said.
“The American Trilogy” is one of Garron’s favorite Elvis Presley songs to perform. He also likes “You Gave Me a Mountain,” which he does at every concert.
Of course, being a tribute artist doesn’t come without challenges, and driving is one of them. “I just got back from North Carolina,” Garron said. The trip was seven hours back and forth from his home in Delaware.
Elvis Tributes Worldwide estimates that there are more than 2,000 professional Elvis Presley tribute artists, but Garron says he’s never met any other Elvis tribute artists. He doesn’t feel the need to enter tribute artist competitions either. “I was never a fan of that,” he said.
Garron never thought of his career as a dream come true. He said, “I was just doing it because I like to do it.”
During his shows, he’ll see younger kids wearing Elvis shirts. They’ll talk to him about Elvis. “I love it,” he said. “That was me and you can see it.”
A little boy’s mother reached out to Garron in an email when it was the child’s birthday. She asked Garron to give him a shout out. Garron brought the boy onstage and gave him Elvis memorabilia. Then he came to another show. Garron let the boy sing “Suspicious Minds” with him.
“He did a great job,” Garron said. “It’s amazing, the impact this man left on the world. It will never die.”
To learn more about Garron, visit: https://www.jessegarron.com/.
Photo Courtesy of Matt Ryb
