Mark Anthony couldn't help falling in love with Elvis Presley.

He's been a fan since the age of three, when his older brother and cousin sat him down and "force-fed" him the music of the American rock 'n' roll legend.

"I had no choice," he said, laughing.

Australian-born Anthony is just one of more than a dozen Elvis tribute acts and impersonators who will be making their way to the town of Barriere, B.C., north of Kamloops, for the annual Canadian Bluemoon Elvis Festival.

A stage of Elvis impersonators are careful not to step on each other's blue suede shoes at the 2015 Canadian Bluemoon Elvis Fest. (Canadian Bluemoon Elvis Festival)

Genre-blending music, 'bucketloads' of talent

For Anthony, Presley's enduring popularity comes down to two factors. The first was his ability to stand out with a unique sound all his own, in a time when people were very keen on categorizing music into rigid genres like country, blues and gospel.

"He seemed to be everything on his own," Anthony said. "You know, he was just classified as 'Elvis music.'"

Australia's Mark Anthony is one of the acts at this weekend's Elvis festival in Barriere. (Mark Anthony)

But more than that, Anthony said, Elvis simply had undeniable star power.

"Some people have either got the looks, or a good voice, or charisma, or something," Anthony said.

"He just seemed to have everything. He had everything it took to make a star, but not just that — he had it in bucketloads."

Anthony says the best part of playing Presely's music is the shared sense of Elvis fandom with the audience.

"It's a lot more putting the spotlight back onto Elvis, as opposed to having me saying, look how good I can perform as Elvis," Anthony said.

"I say this at pretty much every show: I'm just an Elvis fan too."

With files from CBC Radio One's Daybreak Kamloops.