Long Live the King

JACKSON DUCHARME BRINGS THE SONGS AND SPIRIT OF ELVIS PRESLEY TO THE NEXT GENERATION 

By Benjamin Lerner 

Photos by Ogden Gigli

WHEN 15-YEAR-OLD JACKSON DUCHARME steps onstage dressed in an immaculate white jumpsuit glittering beneath the stage lights, he doesn’t just sing Elvis Presley’s songs—he inhabits them. Each lyric, gesture, and movement is grounded yet spontaneous, echoing a performer whose music and spirit is as timeless as his signature look and vocal delivery. As a professional Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA) who isn’t even halfway through high school, DuCharme possesses powerful vocal and performative prowess beyond his years. 

That power was on full display at Rock the Pantry, a benefit concert held in September at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. The evening featured musicians Billy Keane, The Wanda Houston Band, and Natalia Bernal and Jason Ennis with percussionist Manu Uriona—all donating their talents to raise funds for the Pittsfield Community Food Pantry. Amid these seasoned artists, DuCharme held his own with ease and charisma, delivering a set of Elvis songs that radiated polish, heart, and pure fun. 

“It was an honor to share the stage with performers I admire so much,” DuCharme later says. “To be part of a night that helps the community and also brings people together through music—it meant a lot.” 

This wasn’t just another performance for DuCharme; it marked the start of a new chapter. Over the past three years, he has evolved from a musically curious kid singing Elvis songs at home to a two-time youth division champion at regional ETA competitions and a rising professional on the national ETA scene. His shows across the Berkshires, ranging from intimate senior center performances to a sold-out evening at Wahconah Country Club, blend reverence to Elvis with distinct individuality, capturing both the technical nuance and emotional electricity that made the King of Rock and Roll a legend. 

The name “Elvis” is a household name for people of all ages. The music legend is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Born in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, and later rising out of the Memphis music scene, Elvis fused gospel, rhythm and blues, and country in his music. In doing so, he created a sound and a stage presence that rewired popular culture. From the Sun Records sessions and the hip-shaking early national TV appearances, to the widescreen spectacle of the 1968 Comeback Special and his high-voltage Las Vegas residency years, Elvis reshaped the possibilities of a live show. His catalog is equally influential, from rock songs like “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock,” and luminous ballads like “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and the bustling energy of “A Little Less Conversation.” Elvis didn’t just top charts; he arguably created the template for modern pop and rock stardom. 

A landmark anniversary this year adds a different layer of resonance to DuCharme’s performances, which hold the potential to bring the spirit of Elvis to new, younger audiences as his career progresses. Elvis would have turned 90 on January 8, 2025. (His life was cut short when he died of heart failure at the age of 42.) The birthday milestone has sparked renewed listening and fresh appreciation for how his music still moves across generations—families sharing records; theaters hosting tribute nights; and young artists discovering the phrasing, charisma, and craft that made Elvis singular. 

It’s in that cultural moment that DuCharme’s work lands: not as nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, but as a living conversation with a repertoire that continues to inspire new audiences here in the Berkshires and beyond. He channels Elvis’s magnetism with a musician’s discipline and a fan’s sincerity, giving each note its due weight and every audience member a reason to smile. “I love seeing the reactions on people’s faces and talking to them after the show,” DuCharme says. “It’s all about bringing people joy.”

Early Years: Family, First Chords, and Finding Elvis

Long before he donned his first jumpsuit or crooned the King’s most beloved songs, music has always played a major role in DuCharme’s life. Born in Pittsfield and raised in Lanesborough, he grew up with classic rock, country, and early rock and roll spinning around the house. 

“My grandfather was a musician and a singer, and I grew up taking guitar lessons and playing guitar,” says DuCharme. “That is really how I got started in music. It was because of him. He mostly played pretty similar stuff to me—not just Elvis, but a lot of rock and roll that was popular in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s—and he played guitar and sang as well.” 

At a very young age, Jackson would watch Robert DuCharme hold and play the guitar. “When I used to visit, he would let me use his guitar before I could even play,” he says of his grandfather. “I wanted to look at it and hold it, and that’s how I ended up getting my first guitar and wanting to pursue that.” 

DuCharme’s first guitar was modest—an inexpensive acoustic that was most likely purchased from Walmart. He took lessons for about a year at when he was eight years old. The instruction covered the basics—how to read notes, how to hold the guitar properly, and how to play. Most of it he already knew. “I stopped taking lessons before I had gotten into anything really advanced,” he says. From there, curiosity became the teacher. “I would look things up in music books or play by ear, or listen to songs over and over again until I could play them.” 

DuCharme’s tastes took shape alongside his technique. “It was really the similar stuff that my grandfather played because that’s what I heard him play, and I took a liking to that music,” he says. “Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry—those were people that I really liked to listen to. It really just would later become focusing on Elvis because he was who I was really fascinated with.” What drew him to that music era? “A lot of it when I was younger was the simplicity of it—the way it was catchy; how it really changed what people were listening to. A lot of music at that time became more relatable for young people, and I just really liked that. It was very different than anything that came before it.” 

The keystone moment arrived with a song. “The first era that I had heard of Elvis was obviously the 1950s because that’s the other music that I had really liked a lot—the 1950s rock and roll pioneers. And the first song that I heard of Elvis was ‘Hound Dog,’” says DuCharme. “I know that’s not one of the most complex songs, but as a young child, I took a liking to how he moved on stage, and I saw the clothes he wore.” 

Even before he performed, DuCharme was listening like a musician—attuned to phrasing, tone, and presence. He began hearing how Elvis’s voice changed with each phase. “The ballad crooner Elvis doesn’t sound the same as the Elvis that sang ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ or the Elvis that sang powerful songs in the ’70s like ‘American Trilogy’ or ‘My Way,’” says DuCharme. His childhood fascination was fast becoming the foundation of an artist’s craft.

First Steps Onstage: Pittsfield Debut to First Win

DuCharme’s ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist) performance story began in the quiet isolation of the pandemic, at home. That’s when he really started enjoying singing with Elvis’s music. DuCharme started to channel his voice when he sang and was captivated by Elvis’s vocal stylings. 

“He had a very recognizable voice right away, and the way that it changed with every genre that he sang really resonated with me—and it still does,” says DuCharme. Soon after he began singing Elvis tunes, his parents noticed something was happening and encouraged him, despite the fact that DuCharme had never thought about singing in public. 

Their encouragement led to his live debut in October 2022, when he was 12. The show took place at the Italian American Club in Pittsfield with Tommy T. & Black Velvet. The bandleader, Tommy Taglieri, had branched out from solely performing Elvis songs and performed frequently at local dances and events. DuCharme went in and sang a few songs for him before the show so Taglieri could get a sense of what he sounded like. DuCharme performed over backing tracks to see if he could work with them. Previous to that, he had sung with an Elvis recording or played it on a guitar. 

Taglieri was immediately impressed. “He got out there and started singing like he had been doing it for years,” says Taglieri. He gave the young artist the nod to perform five songs at the show.“That was my first experience ever performing in front of an audience,” says DuCharme. 

Back then, his Elvis look was very simple. He had the sunglasses but not the sideburns or jumpsuits. He paired the sunglasses with a black suit jacket and pants, adding a belt similar to the one that Elvis wore in Aloha from Hawaii. In fact, it was his Halloween costume from the year before. The setlist mixed hits and deep cuts. DuCharme vividly recalls “Don’t Be Cruel” as his first song, as well as surprising the crowd with a rare Elvis number—the King’s version of “Funny How Time Slips Away.” DuCharme also performed “Suspicious Minds,” now a staple of his shows. 

That first exchange of energy was galvanizing for DuCharme. “I really liked the feeling of interacting with the crowd, talking to them, moving around on stage, and bringing people into the performance like Elvis did. That’s really what fascinated me: the performing, rather than just playing the music.” He kept gigging with Tommy T. and Black Velvet. “I wanted to really do more shows and events where people would go to watch a show and not just go out to dance.” 

In May 2023, at age 13, DuCharme entered the ETA Youth Division competition at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. It was his first time leaving the Berkshires to perform, and he ended up winning first place. “I loved performing for people on a stage who wanted to hear the music and feel like they’d been transported back in time,” he says. That weekend experience broadened his world. “I met people who have been doing this as their full-time career for much longer than I had even been alive. Seeing that there were other people that did this—I didn’t even know that this was really a community. It was just a very new and exciting experience to meet all these people who shared this love for Elvis and wanted to keep the music alive.” 

Jackson DuCharme channels Elvis Presley with charismatic reverence in each of his live performances.

His mother, Karen DuCharme, has attended all of his ETA competitions and also acts as his manager—or, as she calls herself, his “momager.” She recalls the quantum leap that he took during that performance. “I was surprised that he looked as comfortable up there as he did,” she says. “He didn’t appear nervous to anyone else but me.” In addition to bringing Jackson to his performances, Karen books dates, navigates logistics, and helps him focus on balancing the duality of performance, competitions, and schoolwork. 

Building the Look

DuCharme’s simple costume at that first show with Tommy T. & Black Velvet soon gave way to a deeper pursuit of authenticity. “The thing I realized I really had to improve on in order to be a contender at the competitions was the authentic look,” he says. “Up until then, I was really focused on getting my voice to where I wanted it to be.” He laughs while recalling early wardrobe misfires. “When I would do different eras, I didn’t have the longer hair and the bigger sideburns for the ’70s. I would just have the pompadour hairstyle of the ’50s with everything so that it was recognizable as Elvis. Those were the things I had to work on.” 

DuCharme then began researching tailors and reproduction houses. The first authentic piece came from Lansky Bros. in Memphis, where Elvis once shopped. “I got a shirt there, and that was my first real experience buying something that Elvis actually had,” says DuCharme. During an August 2022 trip to Graceland—Elvis’s home—he bought a pink-and-black short-sleeve shirt that was a replica of what Elvis wore for his somewhat controversial performance of “Hound Dog” in June 1956 on the Milton Berle Show. “Being in the house was a surreal experience,” says DuCharme. “It’s the closest that I’ve felt to Elvis.” 

He added pieces from B&K Enterprises in Indiana and ProElvisJumpsuits.com in Canada, as well as from Thailand-based AJM Elvis Costumes. Today, DuCharme’s closet is stage-ready, with three Las Vegas-era jumpsuits and a fourth one soon. His wardrobe also includes several 1950s and ’60s-era suit jackets, boots like Elvis wore with his jumpsuits in the ’70s, and loafers in the style of what Elvis wore in the ’50s. “I’m just really focusing on having stuff that fits correctly, looks good, and will last,” he says.

The Berkshires and Beyond

In the wake of his competition victories, local bookings multiplied: birthday parties, veterans events, a performance at Lanesborough Town Hall (his first solo one-hour show), and a PCTV holiday special with a pianist from the Happy Together Band. He has learned to balance appearances with school. “Really, it was mostly only accepting shows on weeknights or weekends,” DuCharme says. “It’s hard to balance, but occasionally I have been able to leave early to go perform.” 

In 2024, he won Turning Stone’s youth division again but started getting invites to professional all-ages ETA contests, like the Cape Cod Tribute Festival in Hyannis, where only 20 people were invited. Then 14 years old, he placed fifth alongside adults who had spent decades performing in the ETA scene. In November 2024, he performed at Wahconah High School in Dalton for the Oldies but Goodies show. In 2025, DuCharme returned to the Empire State Tribute Festival at the professional level and placed fifth again. 

Several breakthrough milestones happened this past September, beginning with the sold-out, self-produced show at Wahconah Country Club. He was in charge of it all—posters, organizing ticket sales, and hiring a sound person. Producing his own shows has been a new education. “I’m still figuring things out, figuring out what I can improve,” he says. “It seems like from the show and how people enjoyed it and how it was sold out, that it made it all worth it.”

That sellout performance soon was followed by his mainstage Berkshire debut, The Rock the Pantry fundraiser at The Colonial Theatre. “Being onstage for an event this size is something I’ve never dreamed of,” shares DuCharme. “It’s really an honor to have been there.” His momager echoes that sentiment: “It brought a tear to my eye when he walked out on the Colonial stage to perform for a crowd of 450-plus people.”

The Path Forward

The way DuCharme sees it, the next chapter in his ETA is all about growth and reach. He will perform in an upcoming contest in April in North Carolina—the Viva Las Lexington festival—and he is looking forward to meeting new people and performing on a new stage for a new crowd. 

“I have not gone for competitions farther than New York or Cape Cod, so I’m looking forward to that,” he says. In July, he plans to return to Turning Stone in New York at the professional level to get his name out there more and familiarize himself with other ETAs and audiences. 

In a perfect world, DuCharme wants to pursue his ETA career to the furthest extent. “I want to take this everywhere where I can,” he says. “The aim is keeping the fan base going, bringing new listeners in from my generation, and keeping the music alive.” Closer to home, he will keep producing shows where he controls the experience end to end. “I want to plan more shows for myself so that people around here can come see me perform more often,” he says. 

As DuCharme’s career continues to blossom, Taglieri is grateful to see the music of Elvis carried on with such passion and to continue to play shows with DuCharme whenever possible. “This is why Elvis will never die,” says Taglieri. “When we perform together, you’ve got a 71-year-old and a 15-year-old singing Elvis together—different generations brought together through the music.” 

To check out more of Jackson DuCharme’s live performance footage, visit 

youtube.com/@jacksonducharmeaselvis.