Dolly Parton's estate has confirmed that DOLLYFEST will go ahead in 2027, staged over two consecutive weekends in Nashville and London. Specific dates and a lineup are still to come, and the estate is directing fans to sign up for notifications rather than promising a date.
The festival was Parton's own idea. It was first scheduled for Nashville in January 2026 to mark her 80th birthday, with Parton set to perform and host, and the venue was booked and the announcement written before the plan was shelved. In August 2025 she told fans she needed a few procedures and would step back from appearances, and the Las Vegas concerts she rescheduled at the same time were later cancelled outright.
Parton died on Aug. 25, 2026, at 80, after what her representatives described as a brief battle with cancer. She was buried after a private funeral the following weekend, which her niece Lainey Parton confirmed on Instagram.
Danny Nozell, founder and chief executive of CTK Enterprises, is running the event and has framed it as the alternative to a public memorial service. "DOLLYFEST is a dream of Dolly's that was intended to take place on her 80th birthday in Nashville," he said, adding that a traditional memorial was not something Parton wanted.
The estate is also carrying forward a long queue of projects that had Parton's approval before she died. The SongTeller Hotel in Nashville opens on Sept. 29, the same day as her Life of Many Colors Museum and a coffee line; a doll range arrives Sept. 15; and the Broadway musical DOLLY: A True Original begins previews on Dec. 7, 2026, ahead of a Jan. 19, 2027 opening.
For a country audience still absorbing her death last week, after she missed a Dollywood appearance over health problems, a two-continent festival is an unusual shape for a memorial, which is roughly the point Nozell has been making. Dates will appear on the festival tracker once the estate names them.
The facts
- DOLLYFEST runs in 2027 over two consecutive weekends in Nashville and London.
- Dates and lineup have not been announced; the estate is taking sign-ups for alerts.
- The event was first set for January 2026 to mark Parton's 80th birthday.
- Dolly Parton died on Aug. 25, 2026, at 80, after a brief battle with cancer.
- Organiser Danny Nozell says the festival replaces a traditional public memorial.
- Parton's SongTeller Hotel in Nashville is due to open on Sept. 29.
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