Some of Australia’s most loved country music artists will gather in Tamworth for a special tribute to the late Dolly Parton, in a concert during the Toyota 55th Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Tributes have poured in from around the world, but in Tamworth, the loss is more personal. The city holds an official sister-city bond with Parton’s adopted hometown of Nashville and hosted Parton herself on her last Australian tour in 2014.
“It’s an incredible nod to us that she would come here when most stars are looking for the big 70,000-seater auditoriums, whereas ours is 5,000 seats,” Cheryl Brown, from the Tamworth Country Music Festival, said.
“So for her to come here, she certainly validated us as the country music capital and that saw us being an important part of country music here in Australia.”
“Remembering Dolly, A Tribute to the Queen of Country” will take place on Wednesday, 20 January at 7.30pm at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre, the same venue where Parton performed during her Blue Smoke tour in February 2014.
Led by Brendan Radford and accompanied by the Golden Guitar Awards Band, the concert will feature artists including Adam Harvey, Beccy Cole, Catherine Britt, Darren Coggan, Denvah, Dylan Wright, Ellie Hannah, Fanny Lumsden, Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham, Hayley Jensen, Kevin Bennett, Kirsty Lee Akers, Lyn Bowtell, Melinda Schneider and Tia Hannah, with more acts to be announced.
Produced by Peter Ross, the concert is designed as a celebration of Parton’s life and legacy, with audiences invited to wear denim or diamonds in true Dolly fashion.
Parton left a special mark on Tamworth, Australia’s Country Music Capital, not only through her music but through her Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Founded by Parton in 1995 in East Tennessee, the early literacy program gifts a book each month to children from birth to age five. In Tamworth, the program is financially supported by Tamworth Regional Council, local clubs, businesses, individuals and organisations.
The tribute concert will raise funds for the local Dolly Parton Imagination Library, with a portion of ticket sales donated to the program.
Tickets go on sale on Thursday, 10 September, and can be purchased via www.entertainmentvenues.com.au.
Parton died of cancer earlier this year, aged 80. Her estate has since announced Dollyfest, a two-day festival to be held in Nashville and London across two consecutive weekends in 2027, as a celebration of her legacy. Performers, ticket information and dates for Dollyfest are yet to be announced.
The festival had originally been scheduled for January 2026, around what would have been Parton’s 80th birthday, and was set to feature her as a performer and host.
“We had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go,” organiser Danny Nozell, founder and chief executive of CTK Enterprises, said in a statement.
“And then, in August 2025, Dolly had to take a step back after her initial health challenges.
“A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, Dollyfest is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!).”
Mr Nozell said Dolly did not want a traditional memorial.
“So, instead, it feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly.”
The TCMF tribute concert would also be what Dolly wanted, celebrating her life and suporting her charity.
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