Last wednesday marked the 40th anniversary since Elvis’ passing, and to honor his legacy, American Crew groomed one emerging artist on journey to Memphis!
21 year-old Jonathan O’Neal was chosen to follow in the King of Rock and Roll’s footsteps through American Crew’s Style Makes an Icon program at the Berklee School of Music. And American Crew styled and sponsored him to perform at Graceland on Tuesday, August 15th at 12:30PM.
Over the past year, American Crew has been celebrating the style of an original icon: Elvis Presley. This month, the men’s grooming brand offered one young performer the chance of a lifetime: sponsoring, and styling, Berklee student Jonathan O’Neal as he performed at the legendary home of The King of Rock and Roll, Graceland. O’Neal was showcased during Elvis Week, which celebrates Elvis’ life through music, movies and special guests. This year, Jonathan was one of those special guests.
As the culmination of American’s Crew’s Style Makes an Icon program, in partnership with the Berklee College of Music, American Crew traveled with O’Neal to Memphis, Tennessee as he sang to thousands during three separate performances on August 15th.
American Crew, who last year released a line of special edition Elvis Presley grooming products, sponsored the weeklong Style Makes an Icon workshop at Berklee’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship (BerkleeICE) last April, teaching the next generation of artists how to cultivate their own personal style. O’Neal was selected by American Crew Founder, David Raccuglia, as the winner of the workshop’s culminating Singers Showcase.
Now O’Neal, a 21 year-old Oklahoma native, continued his journey with American Crew in Elvis’ hometown: he performed twice in Memphis with his four-person band, The Rumors, on August 15th, including two shows at Graceland, as part of Elvis Week 2017, and a show at the iconic Hard Rock Café to close out the trip.
“It’s been an exciting road to Memphis and I’m thrilled to work with American Crew to elevate my look for the event,” said O’Neal. “I grew up listening to 50’s rock artists and am heavily influenced by that sound—and of course, that clean, classic American style. Young musicians owe a huge debt to Elvis, and I’m humbled to have the opportunity to be the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ for a day.”
Mike Sharkey, Senior Global Education Manager at Revlon Professional Brands joined O’Neal on that journey as styled him to take the stage. “I first had the pleasure of styling Jonathan during the Berklee competition and was struck by his exuberance and energy and his passion for what he does,” said Sharkey. “The key inspiration for his Graceland look was clearly Elvis’ pompadour, which is a very classic look for American Crew, and one that suits Jonathan extremely well.”
“Jonathan embodies the enduring impact Elvis has had on today’s young artists, and the lessons in confidence and classic style that we still draw from his legacy,” American Crew founder David Raccuglia said. “We are excited to support Jonathan on the next step of journey and to see him shine in Memphis.”
For more information, visit www.americancrew.com