He’s a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll and — why the heck not? — a little bit gospel, and Roger McCranie is bringing all of his elements to a monthly variety show in Ferriday.

Starting this week, McCranie will host a musical showcase on the third Saturday of each month.

“It’s going to be country, it’s going to be gospel, and it’s going to be a lot of Elvis,” McCranie said.

A Natchez native, McCranie spent a decade touring the Southeast as an Elvis tribute artist and placed well in a number of contests for Elvis impersonators.

“I performed a lot of shows at the Peabody Theater in Memphis and at an amphitheatre across from Graceland, and when they made a movie called ‘The King’s Men’ about people who did tributes to Elvis, I had the biggest part,” he said.

When he hit the age of 42, McCranie hung up the tassels. That was the age the King was when he died, and it seemed fitting. McCranie mostly left the entertainment business behind, and he works as a hair stylist now.

“I needed a break, and I didn’t know if I would ever go back to performing,” he said.

But a few months ago, McCranie felt like he had gotten a second wind for the stage, and he started performing during the Gene King Band’s monthly Opry-style showcase at the Arcade Theater.

“I was kind of missing it, and when I started going to Ferriday every fourth Saturday and entertaining with the country show over there, I got to thinking about how I could have my own theater and kind of do things my way,” he said.

Doing things his way means, yes, there will be lots of Elvis, but he won’t be performing as an impersonator.

“Now, I am going to be 62, and I am old enough to be the father of the 42-year-old Elvis,” McCranie said. “My voice has changed with age, but I still love the music, and I will be doing maybe a Tom Jones tune and a Phil Crocker song along with some country songs.”

The two-set showcase will be backed by a five-piece house band, Backroads, which will consist of keyboard, drums, bass, rhythm guitar and lead guitar.

The show will also feature other talent.

The opening showcase will also include performances from Bryce McGlothin, Brandon McCranie, Jody Smith, Kerry McCarver and Hudson Laird.

Brandon McCranie — who is Roger’s nephew and locally known for playing with the band Mojo Mud — will be performing music in the vein of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, Roger said, while Laird will be taking his guitar and playing blues and rock ‘n’ roll.

McCarver and Smith will both perform gospel music, while McGlothin, 8, will probably perform four songs.

Roger McCranie said he has known McGlothin’s father — Glen McGlothin — for many years, and had heard that the boy could sing well.

“I had decided that if he wanted to do it, I wanted him to do it,” Roger said. “I went over to his living room and talked to him about it, and the little fella started singing to me right there, a capella. He could do anything, from a song from (the Disney film) ‘The Jungle Book’ like ‘Bare Necessities’ to ‘Amazing Grace.’”

The Arcade Theater is operated by the Delta Music Museum, and Delta Music Museum Director Judith Bingham said she was happy to see another show take the Arcade as a monthly venue.

“I have seen Roger perform, and I think he is a great performer who does a wonderful job of portraying Elvis in his songs,” she said.

“Having another show here will keep it alive for everybody. We are not Baton Rouge or New Orleans, where all kinds of cultural things take place every month, so for us to have something that is repeated monthly in this rural area, I think it is a fantastic experience for our people.”

Admission to the showcase is $10 a person, but admission for children younger than 12 is free, Roger said.

“We did that so you won’t have to get a babysitter to come out,” he said.

“We are really trying to make this a family-type theater, something people can go to get a wide variety of music that is nice and safe and they don’t have to have to go to any undesired places to have some good clean fun.”

The showcase will last from 7 to 10 p.m., and doors will open at 6 p.m.

The band will take a 15-minute intermission between sets.