Nashville turned out in rhinestones and tears on Wednesday night, October 21, for “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton.” The two-hour special aired live on ABC and Disney+ from Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, less than two months after the country legend’s death.

Parton died on August 25 at the age of 80 following what her representatives described as a brief battle with cancer. Wednesday’s broadcast was the music world’s biggest public tribute to her so far, mixing live performances, archival footage and personal stories from the people who knew her best.

A red carpet full of country royalty

Before the music started, the arrivals alone told you how much Parton meant to Nashville. Page Six’s red carpet gallery showed Reba McEntire, Katy Perry, Kelsea Ballerini, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, Kristin Chenoweth, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Carly Pearce, Ella Langley and Darius Rucker, along with Lady A, Little Big Town and Brad Paisley with his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Members of Parton’s family, including her sister Rebecca Seaver and her niece Danielle Parton, were there too.

More than 20 performers

According to Variety, more than 20 artists took the stage over the course of the night. The lineup included Ella Langley, Lainey Wilson, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Kristen Bell, Molly Tuttle, Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini, Brad Paisley, Zac Brown, Ashley McBryde, Béla Fleck, Kristin Chenoweth, Lady A, Ricky Skaggs, Sierra Hull, Little Big Town, Lukas Nelson and Darius Rucker.

The evening opened with bluegrass. Béla Fleck, Ricky Skaggs, Molly Tuttle and Vince Gill played “A Few Old Memories,” a fitting nod to Parton’s East Tennessee mountain roots.

The moments that hit hardest

A few performances stood out, according to a recap from Jubilee Cast:

  • “When I Get Where I’m Going”: Brad Paisley performed his No. 1 duet with Parton, with Sierra Hull singing Dolly’s part. The song, about faith and the hope of being reunited after death, had already become a source of comfort for fans after her passing.
  • Dolly’s own voice: Zac Brown performed “Butterfly” with Amy Grant and Kimberly Williams-Paisley while Parton’s original vocals played through the auditorium.
  • Reba remembers: McEntire grew emotional recalling meeting Parton early in her career and Parton’s guest role on her sitcom “Reba,” when Dolly handed out Valentine candy hearts to the crew.

Tributes from far beyond Nashville

The special also featured famous friends from outside country music. Oprah opened the broadcast in a pre-recorded video. “We’re both Tennessee girls, and she represented to me the essence of being 100% who you see yourself to be,” she said, per Variety.

Julia Roberts, who starred with Parton in 1989’s “Steel Magnolias,” called her “a shining example of remembering who you are, where you came from, and what it means to be kind.” Sabrina Carpenter, who collaborated with Parton on a remix of “Please Please Please,” said Dolly “meant lightness,” adding that she was “one of the only people on planet Earth that everyone could universally agree on.”

Katy Perry spoke on stage, describing Parton as someone who “could read you for filth with a wink and a smile, and then make sure that your children learn to read too.” She said some called Parton “the Great Unifier” for her ability to bring people together, and concluded, “For me, Dolly is the blueprint.”

Carol Burnett shared a story from filming a 1979 TV special together, when Parton showed up at her hotel room door with a home-cooked meal she had made herself. Bono and Goldie Hawn also paid tribute.

Giving back, Dolly-style

In a touch Parton surely would have appreciated, the CMA and Belmont are donating part of the event’s proceeds to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the program that mails free books to young children.

How to watch

If you missed the live broadcast, the special is set to stream on Hulu starting Thursday, October 22.

It was, by every account, the kind of night Nashville does best: big voices, big hair and a whole lot of heart, all for the woman who taught generations of fans that kindness never goes out of style.

Image: Concert by freestocks.org via Flickr, CC0 1.0