Elvis Just Left Bonita Avenue

A special evening of film, stories, spoken word and Elvis Presley on vinyl. Writers Peter Buwalda and John Schoorl travel back to 1956: the year Elvis changed popular music forever.

In 1956, Elvis Presley caused a sensation among young audiences in the American South with a new sound that left parents and authorities deeply concerned. Popular music would never be the same again.

During Elvis Just Left Bonita Avenue, author Peter Buwalda and journalist John Schoorl take the audience back to this pivotal year through stories, spoken word and plenty of Elvis on vinyl.

The evening begins at 19:00 with the uncompromising 2025 documentary EPIC, introduced by Peter Buwalda. Following the film and a short break, Buwalda and Schoorl take to the stage to explore Elvis’s music, cultural impact and enduring legacy.

Peter Buwalda is one of the Netherlands’ leading contemporary authors. His debut novel Bonita Avenue, which contains numerous references to Elvis, has sold more than 400,000 copies. He recently published De Jaknikker, the follow-up to Otmars Zonen.

John Schoorl is a reporter for de Volkskrant, the author of numerous books about music and a two-time winner of the Dutch journalism award De Tegel. A devoted Elvis admirer, he has visited Graceland several times, interviewed Priscilla Presley and co-edited the Elvis poetry collection Wees niet wreed with Kees ’t Hart.

Haarlem Vinyl Festival presents this evening in collaboration with Cultuur- en Filmkoepel.

Date: Saturday 3 October 2026
Location: FilmKoepel, Screening Room 1
19:00: EPIC (2025), with an introduction by Peter Buwalda
20:45: Elvis Just Left Bonita Avenue

Access is also included in the Haarlem Vinyl Festival Weekend Pass (€95)