Festival honouring Dolly Parton to hit London and Nashville next year

Dolly Parton’s estate has announced a two-day festival honouring the late music legend in London and Nashville next year.

Parton passed away on August 25 at the age of 80, following a “brief battle with cancer.”

Serving as a celebration of her legacy, DollyFest will be staged across two consecutive weekends. It was originally scheduled to take place in January 2026, for Parton’s 80th birthday, featuring her as performer and host.

Organiser Danny Nozell, Founder and Chief Executive of CTK Enterprises, said in a statement that they “had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go. 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!).

"We are not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in the ways they choose. However, as far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted. 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.

"This is something that is authentic to her, something that feels right to me, and something that artists and fans around the world can participate in, while also giving everyone time to grieve, and giving everyone time to plan."

In May of this year, Parton had to pull out of her Las Vegas residency, after having postponed her six-date run at the Colosseum Theatre at Caesars Palace from December 2025 to deal with "health challenges".

In early August, she opened up to People about her ongoing health problems, and said that that she sidelined her own health while she was looking after her husband Carl Thomas Dean, who died last year.

Born into a poor farming family from the rural Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Dolly Parton went on to become one of the most recognisable musicians of all time, enjoying a career that spanned six decades.

In all, the songwriter released 49 studio albums and won 11 Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

The singer was a successful businesswoman and philanthropist. She co-founded the hit-making Sandollar production company and transformed a Tennessee theme park into Dollywood. Her Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library (born from witnessing her father's struggle with illiteracy) has distributed nearly 25 million books annually across five countries - including Ireland.

Performers, ticket information, and dates for DollyFest are yet to be announced.