While humming or singing along with a beloved, know-it-by-heart tune is pretty standard for most fans of popular music, that's where the buck tends to stop: With the fan's mouth and vocal cords.
But there are a few icons in the annals of pop music-makery that require a true-blue buff to incorporate some physical action in addition to the singing-along. You may need to raise your fist, Freddie Mercury-style, when singing to Queen, and you may need to strum a guitar with The Beatles, and you always, always swivel your hips when Elvis Presley is on the radio.
Professional hip-swivelers, or at least those Elvis tribute artists who put the time and hunka hunka hours in, will converge upon the Orange County Market Place on the final Sunday of August to show us fans how achieving Elvis in song, look, and hip sway is fully done.
It's the 16th annual Elvis Festival, and if you're wondering if the gold pinkie rings and big belt buckles and smoldering gazes and colorful leis will be out in fabulous force, wonder no longer: Elvis-o-sity is the theme and King-cool reigns.
Three full stages over a full long day will feature tribute artists paying heartfelt homage to The King in all of his eras, from just-starting-out Elvis to Hawaiian-movie-star Elvis to the beloved Elvis who rocked a mean white jumpsuit and slick pompadour circa the early 1970s.
It won't be all about eyeing the pompadour'd pros at work, though. A Cadillac car show, a King of the Sundaes ice cream-eating contest from Farrell's, and other retro, kitsch-fun happenings will summon the glitter of Graceland to the OC Fair & Event Center.
And fans can try their own lip-syncing prowess during the Hunk A Burnin' Love Lip Synch Contest.
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Of course, it isn't just about the mouth action with The King's top hits, as has been determined. For while the bulk of musicians have made their mark solely through their songs, a few legends went beyond, incorporating famous moves or dances or gestures into their acts, gestures that fans continue to emulate years later.
So start stretching those hip flexors, Elvis aficionados: You'll need to go full King on Sunday, Aug. 30 in Costa Mesa.
