'Elvis is in good hands' with Riley Keough: Here's what's next for Graceland

Ahead of the annual Candlelight Vigil, Elvis Week took a somber turn earlier than usual on Tuesday, with an evening remembrance of the late Lisa Marie Presley.

The nearly 90-minute program, held at the Graceland Soundstage, served as a celebration and memorial of sorts for Elvis Presley’s only child, Lisa Marie Presley, who died Jan. 12 at the age of 54.

Joel Weinshanker, Elvis Presley Enterprises managing partner and majority owner, hosted the event. He used the occasion to note Lisa Marie’s deep involvement in Graceland, including various ongoing development plans.

“We’ve got a great roadmap and are doing a lot of great things at Graceland, and Lisa came up with a lot of the ideas,” said Weinshanker, who noted that Lisa Marie’s eldest daughter, actress Riley Keough, would continue the family’s legacy of supporting Elvis Presley Enterprises. “Riley has picked up where Lisa has left off.”

Keough was recently nominated for an Emmy for her role in the series “Daisy Jones & The Six,” in which she plays the titular charter, a singer in a ‘70s rock band. “Riley… is very smart, very aware, very on top of things,” Weinshanker added. “Graceland is in good hands. Elvis is in good hands.”

During the course of the event, Weinshanker teased — albeit it with few concrete details — several projects, including what he described as “an amazing network Christmas music special” that would shoot at Graceland sometime after Thanksgiving and feature “major stars” (including, Weinshanker suggested, Keough performing).

Weinshanker also confirmed that Keough had arranged to have Lisa Marie’s personal effects and materials given to Graceland. “Lisa always wanted her things to be here,” he said.

Graceland archivist Angie Marchese noted that the Lisa Marie exhibit, “Growing Up Presley,” would be expanded, and “include lots of things in the archive but also some things currently in [Los Angeles] that will be making their way back here."

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Remembering Lisa Marie Presley

Beyond the talk of Graceland’s future, most of the panel focused on Lisa Marie’s life and passing. Longtime family friend and confidante Jerry Schilling spoke extensively as part of the remembrance.

Schilling said marking Lisa Marie’s passing as part of Elvis Week, which also commemorates her father’s passing, was “a double celebration [of their lives] and a double sadness.”

Schilling noted that Lisa Marie’s final years had been a rollercoaster, following the tragic loss of her son Benjamin Keough to suicide in 2020, and the explosion of interest in her father that accompanied Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic, “Elvis.” “Lisa never got over [her son],” Schilling said. “She was very fragile after Ben. She never wanted to do anything after Ben passed away.”

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In addition to Schilling, the event included appearances by longtime Graceland employee and Presley cousin Jimmy Gamble, and Elvis’ onetime girlfriend Linda Thompson, who knew Lisa Marie since childhood.

The program also included the airing of several videos of Lisa Marie talking about her life and a pair of musical duets between Lisa Marie and Elvis, including a previously unreleased performance of the gospel song “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

The event, staged as a charity benefit, raised more than $100,000 for 19 different Memphis-area charities as well the Red Cross of Maui. Weinshanker noted that both Elvis and Lisa Marie had long ties to Hawaii and would have wanted to support recovery efforts there following the recent wildfires on the island. Local Memphis groups that will benefit include the Soulsville Foundation, National Civil Rights Museum, Mid-South Food Bank and American Heart Association Mid-South, among others.

The remembrance for Lisa Marie was followed by the annual Candlelight Vigil at the Presley family gravesite at Graceland.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Elvis Week: Graceland's future with Riley Keough, upcoming projects