2009 – 2025

About Us

&

Our Charities

About Us

Welcome to the site of the Blue Suede Music Festival, held in northern Alberta, Canada at the Ag Grounds in Westlock, Alberta. This festival was started as a way to keep the memory of Elvis and his music alive and to allow tribute artists to come and pay homage to the King of Rock and Roll in a non-competitive setting. It takes place outdoors in a province that has the most Elvis fans in Canada!

The festival was born in 2009 out of an idea to have a few of our tribute artist friends come put to our acreage in August to perform a show for our friends and neighbours in a casual “house party” type of atmosphere.

Because the performers were donating their time, we asked for a Food Bank donation to get in. Over 100 people showed up and the night was filled with great music, singing and dancing!

The next day we discussed things and decided that Alberta needed a non-competitive Elvis festival- the Blue Suede Music Festival was born!!

Our Activity

In 2010 over 250 people came and in 2011 we had 530 people sign a guest book and had 32 RVs in our yard! We realized this was going to get BIG so we started looking for a place to move it to while keeping the feel that we had at our place. In 2012 we moved it to the Busby Sports Grounds and kept it there for 8 years with the last year there, being 2019.

The number of tribute artists and the crowd steadily grew every year and now we consistently have well over 3500 people that come to enjoy some of the best music created, presented by anywhere from 14-20 Elvis Tribute Artists from all over Canada and the US!

Over 4600 POUNDS of food was donated in 2019 (last Festival before Covid!) by Elvis fans who came from all over the world to celebrate the music of Elvis Presley! Over $2200 was given directly to the Food Banks at the gates by those who forgot a food donation. Funds from the beautiful quilt handmade by Tammy Stromberg and donated to the Festival brought in another $3500 for the Food Banks. After bills were paid the Festival gave another $10,000 to the 3 Food Banks and The Ripple Connection!

We are excited for the future of this Festival and are pleased to announce that starting in 2022 we will be holding it at the Ag Grounds in Westlock, Alberta.

Our Activity

Elvis was incredibly charitable and nothing made him happier than providing for people who needed help. Blue Suede has also always been all about giving back.
Right from the very first year in 2009, a Food Bank donation was required to get into the Festival. As the Festival grew and expenses climbed, an admission fee was added but a Food Bank donation was still a requirement to gain entrance. If non-perishable items are forgotten, the Food Banks are very happy to accept a cash donation.

Besides 3 local area Food Banks, Westlock, Morinville and Barrhead, we also support The Ripple Connection in Barrhead. The Ripple Connection focuses on mental health and addiction challenges and provides support for caregivers. They also have a daily “Warm your heart” lunch program.
After expenses are paid, the 4 charities get a cheque from Blue Suede to add to what comes in at the gate. From 2011 to 2019 (last year before Covid) those cheques total $69,750!!!

From 2010-2019, an incredible 34,695 POUNDS of food and $10,256 in cash PLUS $10,740 from 2 homemade quilts that were raffled off and live auction proceeds, was divided up among the 4 charities, in addition to the cheques they received from Blue Suede!!!

The Busby Firefighters raised over $50,000 by running 50/50 draws throughout each Festival that helped the community build an outdoor rink and helped with a new addition to the Fire Hall.

The Busby School was the beneficiary of the recyclables from each Festival to help fund their hot lunch program. Plus they were given leftover pancake batter and sausages from the pancake breakfasts and hot dogs, hamburgers and buns from the concession.

We keep entry fees low so people can still help the Food Banks and everyone can afford to come to this fun filled, family oriented event.
In keeping with Elvis’ love for charities, Blue Suede will continue to be a charity event.