CMA Makes Smart Move to Give Dolly Parton Tribute Its Own TV Special
Dolly Parton’s passing on August 25th, 2026 was way too significant to ever try to attempt to do her legacy justice in some sort of passing segment on the 2026 CMA Awards coming up in November. The only right way to do it would ultimately hog half the show, and make everything else feel secondary. And frankly, with the way the CMAs have been forgoing any In Memoriam segment entirely over the last decade, you just can’t trust them to handle this stuff well during the annual awards show.
So on Wednesday, October 21st on ABC, the CMA will present “I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton” at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central—a two-hour dedicate special centered around Dolly Parton’s legacy. It will also be available for streaming on Disney+, as well as available the next day on-demand on Hulu. The special will air live from Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville.
Artists scheduled to perform include:
Ashley McBryde, Béla Fleck, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Ella Langley, Kelsea Ballerini, Kristin Chenoweth, Lady A, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Lukas Nelson, Molly Tuttle, Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs, Sierra Hull, Vince Gill and Zac Brown, with special appearances by Amy Grant and Kimberly Williams-Paisley.
The CMA chose a good cross section of both recognizable names from the mainstream, along with some country legends, and a healthy segment of artists from the bluegrass world like Béla Fleck, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Hull since bluegrass was so elemental to Dolly’s sound. Multiple artists scheduled to perform also have a very strong history with Dolly, including Reba McEntire, who now is one of country’s top living queens, as well as Carly Pearce who started her career performing at Dollywood.
You do wish some other names would have made it onto a special like this. A performer like 4-time Grammy winner Sierra Ferrell would have been a perfect selection for the special. And artists who might not yet be household names, but really embrace the Dolly Parton influence and can invoke the sound to spine-tingling effect such as Emily Ann Roberts, Carter Faith, Emily Zeck, Hannah Marie Kelley, and others feel like oversights.
But hey, this also could have come together as an 8-minute segment during the CMAs, and it would have never done justice to Dolly. Along with performances and most certainly some tear-filled recollections, the special will also include multiple retrospectives and archival footage of Dolly Parton throughout the years. Proceeds from the special will go to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
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October 19, 2026 @ 9:18 pm
Dolly herself was all over the map musically. The performers chosen for this tribute are, too. No problem with any of them.
October 19, 2026 @ 9:26 pm
I’m actually surprised we didn’t see one or two names from the straight pop world on the lineup, like God daughter Miley Cyrus, or maybe Kelly Clarkson. Not advocating for it necessarily, but it wouldn’t be out of place for an event like this.
October 19, 2026 @ 9:36 pm
Dolly was a legend and she deserves this.
I’m not a Miley Cyrus fan. But she should sing Jolene at this. She absolutely kills that song. And Dolly is her Godmother. Like I said, I’m not a fan of her music but, I wouldn’t be disappointed if they had her on for that.
October 19, 2026 @ 11:52 pm
Considering Miley’s trainwreck show at the Hollywood Bowl and Kelly Clarkson’s bird meltdown, the CMA booking team dodged two major distractions for this week!
October 20, 2026 @ 4:45 am
Im no special person but loved hearing sing as my time i could in my time ..remember a special time when I worked in Ben t on Tenn..and lady came threw my store at the One Red light town..anyway she had stopped by several times and I had ask her are s ure she wasn’t Dolly..of course she told me no..but said would compete as her in shows they would do up in Dolly Wood I never got up now w I ll not get chance.to nd or my wish ti have met her ..now everything is hear singing ..and special they have on about her..I tear up or cry ..Such a special person and is one that how much she was to us all now she’s gone…..but Dolly …..We Will Always Love You…….miss you so much…
October 20, 2026 @ 5:11 am
…just doin’ the bleedin’ obvious. still, good idea.
October 20, 2026 @ 7:13 am
This is a good decision by the CMA. Dolly deserves a dedicated send off. So glad it will be on ABC so I don’t have to sign up for HULU to watch it.
October 21, 2026 @ 3:20 pm
Dallas TX ABC channel 8 is broadcasting the NBA basketball game in that timeslot tonight :-(.
Hope the tribute shows up on YouTube eventually.
October 21, 2026 @ 3:30 pm
UPDATE The Dolly Parton Tribute will air at 2:12 a.m. Thursday, 1022/26 on Dallas ABC channel 8. That is 2 hours after midnight, fyi 🙂
October 21, 2026 @ 3:45 pm
Man, that sucks. I’m checking around to see if it’s going to be preempted in other media markets, and am not seeing anything. That has to be a decision by the local affiliate.
October 24, 2026 @ 11:22 am
Yes
October 20, 2026 @ 2:35 pm
I love dolly and country music so much. And I will forever miss dolly parton
October 21, 2026 @ 7:51 am
Dolly will forever be missed by fans the world over. She was a brilliant song writer and every performance on stage was undeniably beautifully performed with all her heart and soul. Dolly shined like the brightest ✨️ stars in heaven for many reasons. In my opinion, perhaps the main reason is she TRULY CARED SO DEEPLY FOR EVERYONE….FOR HUMAN KIND IN GENERAL. Thank you, God, for allowing me to share this world with such an amazing, free spirited, kind and gracious human being. I will always love you Dolly!
October 21, 2026 @ 6:59 pm
The differences between this performance and the measly tribute that the Opry done is like night and day. The Opry can learn from this and do it right. I can think of a few more artists that (hopefully not soon) they will have a chance to rectify how badly they messed up their Dolly tribute.
October 22, 2026 @ 6:24 am
Loved the broadcast. Best performances were the opening act with Vince Gill, and Lainey Wilson’s and Zach Brown’s tributes. The young lady who sang the hit with Brad Paisley did an amazing job. Winning moment, without a doubt, was Reba McIntire.
Country music can honor Dolly by playing more of her music, as well as her deep cuts, more often. Not some of the songs we hear today that belong on pop stations.