Elvis Evolution, created by Layered Reality was announced in January 2024 and was advertised as a concert experience using AI. They stated that the experience would use AI and holographic projections of the star to create a real concert experience for fans. It would include"life-sized digital Elvis who will perform iconic moments in musical history on a UK stage for the first time". However, attendees have stated that there was in fact no hologram of Elvis, leaving fans feeling dissapointed and misled.
A spokesperson for Layered Reality said "A small number of people have pointed out that they were expecting a hologram concert, due to the initial announcement made in January 2024. As with many complex productions that are two years in the making, the concept developed from those early stages, and this was made clear when tickets went on sale in October 2024. We ultimately took the creative decision not to mimic Elvis's performances. Those moments proved to be too iconic and irreplaceable. Instead, we use AI to upscale archive footage and in moments we know happened but where no footage existed, offering a new lens into his world."
The tickets for the Elvis experience ranged from £75 to £300. An attendee told the BBC that "It was a shambles from start to finish, there was no Elvis, it was just a video of him that you could watch on YouTube."
Mark and Tracey Baldwin said they felt “more like mugs than VIPs” after they described the show as 'atrocious' and a show that could have cost them £30. She claimed that the unhappy guests left early and accused Layered Reality for exploiting older people by “scamming us with technology that we won’t understand”.
The experience has had mixed reviews as fans who enjoyed the experience took to social media to praise the experience, stating that it was "well-acted, innovative, exciting and a whole lot of fun". The Telegraph gave it a one star review, saying that it had "limp and indifferent offerings", however CityFm described it as "incredibly touching" in a four star review. Time Out said that the show was "made with care" and that the experience is enjoyable once you "accept it for what it is."
The Elvis Experience will run at ExCel in London until the end of this year.
