Grand Ole Opry Honors Dolly Parton at 80 With Sold-Out Tribute Days After Her Death
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 30
Grand Ole Opry Honors Dolly Parton at 80 With Sold-Out Tribute Days After Her Death
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 30
Summary
A sold-out Grand Ole Opry on Aug. 29 turned into a public farewell for Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25 at 80, with fans, flowers and butterfly tributes filling the Nashville venue.
Carly Pearce opened the official tribute and later led an arm-in-arm finale, while Jelly Roll joined a crowd singalong of “9 to 5” and Jada Star thanked fans on behalf of the Parton family.
Videos from Parton’s Opry history ran between performances by Molly Tuttle, Dan Tyminski, Kathy Mattea and others, keeping the mood more celebratory than mournful despite the week’s grief.
Parton got the final word through video from her 50th Opry anniversary performance of “I Will Always Love You,” ending the night with a recorded message of thanks to fans.