Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and more have been announced for CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton.
The upcoming two hour TV special, which will air live on Disney+ and ABC on October 21, will feature 20 performers paying tribute to the late country icon following her death last month at the age of 80.
The Country Music Association has unveiled the official list of stars, including Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Ella Langley, Lainey Wilson, Vince Gill, Kristen Bell, Molly Tuttle and Carley Pearce.
Other names on the bill include Brad Paisley, Zac Brown, Ricky Saggs, Lukas Nelson, Kelsea Ballerini, Ashley McBryde, Bela Fleck, Lady A, Kristin Chenoweth, Sierra Hull, Little Big Town and Darius Rucker.
Meanwhile, Amy Grant and Kimberley Williams-Paisley have also been announced, although they are confirmed as non-performing guests.
The CMA Awards’ longtime boss Robert Deaton is set to executive producer the special, which will air from Belmont University’s Fisher Center for Performing Arts.
The Nashville venue was the site of the Dolly musical’s sole pre-Broadway production in 2025.
Tickets to the upcoming celebration are on sale now, with Belmont and the CMA promising to make a donation from proceeds to Dolly’s Imagination Library, which provides over 3.4 million books every month to children in the US and around the world.
In 2022, Dolly told PEOPLE magazine: “I’m proud of the Imagination Library as much as anything I’ve ever done in my life.”
The Jolene hitmaker explained that she wanted to commit her time and money to causes that matter to her.
She added: “I always want to do things that I can be proud to talk about, things that I believe in.
“I cannot be a hypocrite and just say I’m going to donate this money for a tax write-off. I’d really like for it to mean something to me — something I can take pride in.”
Meanwhile, Dolly’s manager Danny Nozell recently revealed her team have a “project roadmap” from the late legend herself, which will keep her legacy alive “for decades to come” with various posthumous releases, shows and more.
He said in a statement: “Dolly worked up until the day she died. She loved seeing her dreams come to life, and loved knowing her work brought people joy.
“Ever the planner, Dolly worked with the team that she handpicked, for the past several years to build a project roadmap that will guide us for decades to come.”
