Texas Music News — September 28, 2026
Kacey Musgraves gave Dolly Parton an emotional VMA send-off Sunday, singing “I Will Always Love You” solo at the piano. The Golden, Texas, native hadn’t stood on the VMA stage in five years. MTV built Sunday’s tribute around her, because her reverence for Parton runs straight through her own catalog. Archival footage of Dolly singing the classic ballad opened the segment. Musgraves then took over for the final verses alone at the piano, in a glittering gown. She couldn’t stand in the room, though. That same night, she headlined her own show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. She was mid-tour on her Middle of Nowhere run, so producers taped her segment in advance.
How Kacey Musgraves Repaid Dolly Parton’s Torch
Dolly Parton spent a lifetime turning Sevierville, Tennessee, into the center of the music world. Musgraves did something similar for Golden, Texas, a blink of a town. She first picked up a mandolin there before she ever left the state. She later moved to Austin at 18 to chase music full time. Passing a torch between two small towns that each raised a legend felt fitting.
Parton died August 25, 2026, and Musgraves has honored her all fall on tour. At Madison Square Garden, she struggled to find the words. “The world definitely lost a light, and it’s hard for me to talk about,” she told the crowd. “We lose a matriarch.” This wasn’t her first tribute to Parton on a big stage, either. She joined her at the 2019 Grammys and the MusiCares tribute that same year. Now she’s the one keeping the songs alive. Dolly Parton spent her life making sure nobody who heard her sing felt alone. On Sunday, a woman from Golden, Texas, made sure nobody forgot that.
Details at Stereogum
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