An Honest Review of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” Tribute

Dolly’s gone, but she definitely won’t be forgotten. On Wednesday evening, October 21st, the Country Music Association assembled an all-star cast to pay tribute to the country queen at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University in Nashville. The two-hour special broadcast live on ABC was really the biggest moment so far for fans and performers alike to remember and pay tribute to Dolly.

The presentation would start and finish off strong, had some really touching moments in the form of both performances and oral remembrances worth remarking on and revisiting, yet meandered at times in the middle portions as mediocre talent was exposed for being pretty incapable of properly paying Dolly tribute, let alone evoking her memory, or presenting an inspiring moment. The special also was somewhat bisected by word of another Hall of Famer John Anderson passing away, with the news breaking in the middle of the tribute.

The presentation started where Dolly Parton started, with acoustic instruments, and the roots of bluegrass in east Tennessee. Vince Gill, Molly Tuttle, Ricky Skaggs, and Béla Fleck commenced the celebration with the old Hazel Dickens song “A Few Old Memories” that Dolly recorded on her 1999 album My Grass Is Blue. And right out of the chute, any worry that this special wouldn’t be reverent to Dolly’s deep roots in country music were put to bed as pictures from her career were displayed behind the stage.

Reba McEntire then came out on stage to speak. Reba would be one of the recurring characters of the evening. “We could be here all night talking about the songs she’s written, the awards she won … but tonight is not about that,” Reba explained, before continuing on that Dolly was “exactly who God made [her] to be. She never tried to fit into someone else’s idea of who she ought to be … Who we saw on stage is who Dolly was off stage too. Authentic. She became more that an songwriter or an entertainer. She became hope.”

“Authenticity” would be evoked numerous times during the presentation, from personalities inside of country music, and out like Dolly friend Oprah Winfrey. After the first couple of performances, a video montage played chronicling Dolly’s life as a little girl growing up in a one room cabin, to getting started in the music business with Uncle Bill, to debuting on the Porter Wagoner Show.

Lainey Wilson then came out to lead the same bluegrass ensemble that started the show off with a version of “Train, Train,” including Ricky Skaggs, Molly Tuttle, and fiddle player Stuart Duncan all taking hot leads. Lainey might’ve been a little loud and outspoken for the otherwise acoustic arrangement, but it did give some star power to an otherwise second straight bluegrass offering to start the show.

Ashley McBryde then came out to sing one of Dolly Parton’s signature songs, “Coat of Many Colors” in a very strong, if not slightly understated performance that included recitation of one of the verses. Then after Katy Perry came out for a speech and remembrance, the woman of the moment, Ella Langley, took the stage to sing another one of Dolly’s signature songs, “Jolene.” Similarly, it felt strong, but understated, especially since the performance was set in a lower key so Langley could be comfortable, which unfortunately took out all the sweet notes and opportunities for a spine-tingling “moment.”

After the initial bluegrass sets and the blazing vocals and instrumentation they illustrated, these next performances highlighted how there really are few who could ever do Dolly’s greatest songs the same justice that Dolly could herself, or at least not from the current crop of mainstream country talent. It’s fair to wonder if someone like Miley Cyrus or Sierra Ferrell could have done these songs better, and resulted in more memorable performances.

Later the video retrospective resumed and picked up with Dolly Parton leaving Porter Wagoner and writing “I Will Always Love You,” crossing over to pop with “Here You Come Again,” and getting into acting. Kelsea Ballerini came out to perform “Here You Come Again,” once again set in a lower key, likely to remain in the comfort zone of Ballerini’s range, and once again robbing the performance of any fireworks or goosebump moments. At one point, Kelsea had to lower the mic, and let a backup singer hit what was still only a moderately “high” note.

After an introduction by Little Big Town, Darius Rucker then came out to perform “Two Doors Down.” The performance at times was pitchy, and was just a little perplexing why this artist, and this song were selected for this presentation, except that having Hootie on the presentation helped goose the name recognition for folks outside of country. This was followed by Carly Pearce with Kristen Chenoweth yet again giving a lowered register performance that felt underwhelming.

Julia Roberts gave a great speech via recorded video, as did Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Barbara Mandrell, Carol Burnett, and others during the presentation. Lady A came out to perform “Islands in the Stream.” And once again, all the big notes were rendered inert by the key selected.

But the tail end of the presentation is where the performances finally began to soar again. Lukas Nelson came out to sing “You Can’t Make Old Friends” with Lainey Wilson joining in. That’s when we finally heard those sweet notes, and you felt like you were witnessing unique talent on stage. Little Big Town sang an intimate rendition of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” that also felt more inspired.

Amy Grant came out to then talk about Dolly Parton’s faith, and how important it was to her, and guided so many of the decisions and choices throughout her life. To follow this up, Reba McEntire came out to sing “He’s Alive”—a song Dolly sang live many times, including famously on the 1989 CMA Awards in a now legendary performance. When Reba reached the final chorus and was backed by a Gospel choir, we finally got one of those spine-tingling moments we’d been waiting for, and the capacity crowd came to its feet in one of the evening’s few standing ovations.

Zac Brown didn’t sing a Dolly Parton song. But he did sing a song that he sang with Dolly Parton called “Butterfly” that was released in 2025. Zac said he didn’t write it initially about Dolly Parton. But that’s what the song became the more he pondered on it, and that’s why he asked her to sing on it. With Dolly’s portion piped in as a backing track, Zac Brown performed a very powerful live rendition of the song, with shots of the butterfly-arranged flower arrangements flanking the stages working as the stand-in for Dolly’s presence.

Then Brad Paisley came out to perform “When I Get Where I’m Going,” a song he also sang as a duet with Dolly, but with bluegrass maestro Sierra Hull singing Dolly’s parts and playing mandolin. It felt like one of the most inspired performances of the evening heading into the home stretch.

But throughout the whole night, we knew someone would have to sing “I Will Always Love You.” We knew it would be emotional, and we knew that it would take someone with an incredible voice to pull off the feat. We didn’t know it would be Carrie Underwood, but it made total sense when she walked out on stage. Along with Reba’s performance, it was a highlight of the night. Underwood was joined by Reba and the rest of the performers for the final portion of the celebration.

“I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton” was probably worth the time investment, even if it could have been bolstered by allowing some of the artists to make more bold performances, or finding artists who could have been more bold with Dolly Parton songs. Where were the artists who can sing those soaring Dolly Parton songs? Where was Dolly Parton’s family like Stella Parton?

But overall, even getting a two-hour special in prime time was a true and worthy honor to the Dolly Parton legacy, and ultimately, a lot of great memories and music was shared.

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