Grand Ole Opry Says Goodbye to Dolly Parton With Star-Studded Night of Music — Before Letting Dolly Sing the Final Song Herself
The Grand Ole Opry became a place of remembrance on Saturday night as more than 30 members and performers gathered to celebrate Dolly Parton through the music that made her one of country’s most beloved figures.
There were deeply personal connections everywhere.
Carly Pearce, who once performed at Dollywood and was later invited by Dolly herself to join the Opry, opened the evening. Dolly’s niece Jada Star stepped onto the stage to honor her aunt. Kathy Mattea, Molly Tuttle, Ketch Secor and Channing Wilson each revisited songs connected to Dolly’s extraordinary catalog.
Then, as the evening approached its conclusion, the stage filled for a joyous rendition of “9 to 5” that included a surprise appearance from Jelly Roll.
But the Opry saved perhaps its most moving gesture for last.
After spending the night singing Dolly’s songs, the performers stopped singing altogether.
They gathered together and watched as footage of Dolly performing “I Will Always Love You” played before them.
The woman they had come to remember was allowed to close her own tribute.
Carly Pearce opens the evening with a personal message
Pearce began the tribute with “Those Memories of You,” but her connection to Dolly went far beyond simply performing one of her songs.
Before achieving success as a recording artist, Pearce worked as a performer at Dollywood.
Years later, Dolly became part of one of the biggest moments of Pearce’s career when she surprised her with an invitation to become a Grand Ole Opry member.
Pearce officially joined in 2021.
Standing on the Opry stage Saturday, she acknowledged the woman who had helped welcome her into that family.
“It only feels right that I get to honor the queen tonight,” Pearce said.
“Dolly, we love you.”
With those words, an evening of memories and music began.
‘Jolene’ and ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home’ return to the stage
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The tribute moved through different chapters of Dolly’s musical legacy.
Kathy Mattea performed “Jolene,” bringing one of Dolly’s signature compositions back to the Opry stage.
Ketch Secor and Molly Tuttle joined together for “Just Someone I Used to Know.”
Channing Wilson then performed “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” a song rooted in the East Tennessee upbringing that remained central to Dolly’s identity throughout her life.
The performances weren’t presented simply as covers of famous songs.
Together, they created a musical journey through the places, relationships and stories that Dolly transformed into music over the course of her career.
Dolly’s niece Jada Star honors her aunt
One of the evening’s most personal moments came when Jada Star took the stage.
Dolly’s niece performed “The Orchard” in honor of her aunt, bringing the Parton family directly into the Opry’s remembrance.
Her appearance added another layer to a tribute already filled with artists whose lives and careers had intersected with Dolly’s.
Throughout the show, the Opry also used its video screen to revisit memorable footage from Dolly’s appearances at the venue.
For an audience mourning a performer whose connection to the institution stretched back nearly seven decades, those clips provided glimpses of the many different eras of Dolly’s career.
Jelly Roll makes a surprise appearance for ‘9 to 5’
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The individual performances eventually gave way to a huge collective moment.
More than 30 Opry members and performers came together onstage for “9 to 5.”
Rather than ending the evening entirely in sadness, the performance celebrated the energy and personality that had made Dolly’s music resonate with generations of listeners.
The number also contained a surprise.
Jelly Roll joined the group onstage, adding another generation of country music to the celebration.
With the Opry stage packed with performers singing one of Dolly’s most recognizable songs, the moment demonstrated just how widely her influence had spread.
Artists with very different careers and musical styles were united by one catalog and one woman.
Then the performers stopped singing
After the huge “9 to 5” performance, the evening could easily have ended on that celebratory high.
Instead, the Opry chose something much simpler.
The performers remained together onstage.
Their attention turned toward the video screen.
Then Dolly appeared performing “I Will Always Love You.”
There was no attempt to replace her voice.
No artist was asked to deliver one final interpretation.
Instead, those who had spent the evening singing her songs became the audience.
They stood together and watched Dolly.
The choice gave the closing moments a very different emotional weight.
“I Will Always Love You” had already carried countless meanings throughout Dolly’s career. On Saturday night, with the Opry family gathered together following her death, the song became a farewell.
Dolly first stood before an Opry audience at only 13
The location of Saturday’s tribute was particularly significant because Dolly’s relationship with the Grand Ole Opry began years before she became a star.
The Opry recalled that history in its remembrance of her this week.
In 1959, Johnny Cash introduced a 13-year-old Dolly to the audience as “a little girl from East Tennessee.”
She walked onto the stage and performed George Jones’ “You Gotta Be My Baby.”
What happened next provided an early indication of the connection Dolly would eventually build with audiences around the world.
She earned three encores.
“The crowds loved her from the first note,” the Opry wrote.
“And they never stopped.”
Ten years later, she officially joined the Opry family
Dolly returned to the institution as her career grew, eventually becoming an official Grand Ole Opry member on January 4, 1969.
She was just 23 years old.
Country music legend Gene Autry invited her to join.
The induction began another chapter in a relationship that would span decades.
By the time of Saturday’s tribute, the teenage performer once introduced by Johnny Cash had become one of the defining figures in country music history.
That long connection explains why the Opry’s first tribute following her death carried such significance.
This was not simply a venue playing Dolly Parton songs.
It was an institution remembering one of its own.
Saturday’s sold-out show will also continue Dolly’s legacy
The tribute was held as part of the Grand Ole Opry’s customary tradition on the first Saturday following the death of an Opry member.
A larger and more official celebration dedicated to Dolly is expected at a later date.
Saturday’s sold-out gathering also ensured the evening would have an impact beyond the stage.
Proceeds from the show were donated to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
The literacy initiative became one of Dolly’s most significant philanthropic projects, meaning a night devoted to remembering her would also support work closely associated with the legacy she built away from music.
The girl Johnny Cash introduced finally received her Opry farewell
There was an extraordinary symmetry to Saturday night.
In 1959, Johnny Cash stood before an Opry audience and introduced a 13-year-old unknown from East Tennessee.
Dolly sang.
The audience wanted her back.
Three encores followed.
Years became decades, and that little girl eventually became the performer younger artists dreamed of sharing a stage with — and the woman who could personally call Carly Pearce to tell her she belonged in the Grand Ole Opry.
On Saturday, those generations came together.
They sang Dolly’s songs for her.
They remembered her performances.
Her own niece stood among them.
More than 30 performers joined voices for “9 to 5,” with Jelly Roll appearing as a surprise guest.
Then, after everyone else had paid tribute, the room belonged to Dolly once more.
The artists stood together.
The screen lit up.
And the girl from East Tennessee who had first captivated the Opry at 13 was given the final song.
Dolly Parton sang “I Will Always Love You.”
This time, everyone else simply listened.
