The Local Girl 
Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80. Ms. Parton’s death was announced on Tuesday, August 25th, 2026. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, shared the news in a video, according to multiple reports. The singer had spoken publicly in recent months about health issues, including challenges she said became more apparent after the March 2025 death of her longtime husband, Carl Dean.
The Tennessee native leaves behind a career that spanned nearly six decades and reached far beyond country music. Ms. Parton wrote an estimated 3,000 songs, recorded hundreds of them, sold more than 100 million records, won 11 Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Her best-known songs include Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You, the latter of which became a worldwide hit again in 1992 when Essex County native Whitney Houston recorded it for The Bodyguard.
She was also an actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Ms. Parton starred in movies including 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Steel Magnolias, built Dollywood into one of Tennessee’s best-known attractions, and founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has distributed hundreds of millions of books to children. Read on for more about Dolly Parton’s legacy and her New Jersey performances.
Dolly Parton’s New Jersey Appearances
Over the course of her career, Ms. Parton also made several stops in the Garden State. From Waterloo Village to Atlantic City to the PNC Bank Arts Center, here’s a look back at Dolly Parton’s documented New Jersey appearances.
- August 1st, 1975: Waterloo Village in Stanhope
One of Ms. Parton’s earliest documented New Jersey performances took place on August 1st, 1975, at Waterloo Village in Stanhope. Concert archives list Ms. Parton as performing at the historic Sussex County venue that Friday. Waterloo Village, located along the Morris Canal, became known for hosting concerts and music festivals during the second half of the 20th century.
The performance came during a pivotal period in Parton’s career. She had recently ended her longtime professional partnership with Porter Wagoner and was establishing herself fully as a solo artist. Jolene had become a hit in 1973, followed by I Will Always Love You in 1974.
- August 12th, 1978: Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel
By the late 1970s, Dolly was well on her way to becoming a crossover superstar. On August 12th, 1978, she performed at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel, the venue now known as the PNC Bank Arts Center. Concert records place the show between an August 11th performance in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and an August 13th show at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland.
It was an especially big era for Parton. Her 1977 album Here You Come Again became her first million-selling album and helped introduce her to a much broader pop audience.
- August 13th, 1979: A Return to Holmdel
Ms. Parton returned to the Garden State Arts Center almost exactly one year later, on August 13th, 1979. A surviving setlist from the Holmdel concert includes Here You Come Again, Heartbreaker, Jolene, My Tennessee Mountain Home, and covers of Great Balls of Fire and The Beatles’ Help!
By then, Ms. Parton’s transition from country star to mainstream celebrity was well underway. The following year, she would make her feature-film debut alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5.
- May 1981: An Extended Stay in Atlantic City
Atlantic City became another recurring New Jersey stop for Ms. Parton. In May 1981, she performed an extended engagement at Resorts International, now Resorts Casino Hotel. A 2026 retrospective from Shore Local describes Ms. Parton as one of the first major superstars booked at an Atlantic City casino and reports that she received a full week-long booking, something that was unusual for the city.
Historical concert databases also document multiple consecutive performances at Resorts during May 1981, though surviving sources differ on the precise beginning and ending dates of the engagement. Setlist and concert archives document performances during the May 10th through May 17th period.
The timing was fitting as she was enjoying one of the biggest mainstream moments of her career after the release of 9 to 5 in December 1980. Its title song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- August 2nd, 1992: Garden State Arts Center
Ms. Parton returned to the Garden State Arts Center on August 2nd, 1992. Concert records document the 1992 performance at the venue, marking at least her third known appearance at the Holmdel amphitheater before it was renamed the PNC Bank Arts Center.
That year would soon become significant for one of Parton’s most famous songs. Newark, NJ native Whitney Houston’s version of Ms. Parton’s I Will Always Love You was released in 1992 as part of The Bodyguard soundtrack and became a massive worldwide hit.
Ms. Parton later spoke movingly about Houston and her connection to the song following Houston’s death in 2012.
- September 10th + 11th, 1993: Caesars Atlantic City
Ms. Parton performed two nights at the Circus Maximus Theater at Caesars Atlantic City on September 10th and September 11th, 1993. Historical concert records document both shows, and local Atlantic City retrospectives also note the two-night Caesars engagement.
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- November 11th, 2004: East Rutherford
On November 11th, 2004, Ms. Parton brought her Hello, I’m Dolly tour to The Theater at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford. The venue was part of the Meadowlands Sports Complex and was created by configuring the larger arena into a more intimate theater setting.
- November 12th, 2004: Caesars Atlantic City
One night after East Rutherford, Ms. Parton headed down the Garden State Parkway for another Atlantic City performance. On November 12th, 2004, she returned to Caesars Atlantic City and performed at the Circus Maximus showroom as part of the Hello, I’m Dolly tour. Getty Images photographs from that night document Ms. Parton performing onstage with her guitar.
- August 16th, 2005: House of Blues Atlantic City
Ms. Parton launched her tour from Atlantic City’s House of Blues. The Vintage Tour officially began on August 16th at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. The tour supported Those Were the Days, Parton’s album featuring her interpretations of songs associated with artists including Bob Dylan and others.
The Atlantic City opening-night set included songs such as Those Were the Days, 9 to 5, Jolene, My Tennessee Mountain Home, and Coat of Many Colors. The tour would ultimately travel to dozens of cities across the United States and Canada, meaning its first notes were played right here in New Jersey.
- May 3rd, 2008: Borgata Event Center
Ms. Parton returned to Atlantic City on May 3rd, 2008, this time performing at the Borgata Event Center as part of her Backwoods Barbie Tour.
The setlist was a tour through several decades of her career. She performed Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, Here You Come Again, 9 to 5, I Will Always Love You, Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That, and songs from the then-new Backwoods Barbie album. She closed the show with Jesus and Gravity.
- June 26th, 2016: PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel
Decades after her first shows at the Garden State Arts Center, Dolly returned to the same Holmdel stage under its newer name.
Ms. Parton performed at the PNC Bank Arts Center on June 26th, 2016, during her Pure & Simple Tour. The venue itself includes the concert in its history of notable performances.
The setlist included Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, My Tennessee Mountain Home, 9 to 5, Here You Come Again, I Will Always Love You, and music from her Pure & Simple album.
It appears to have been Ms. Parton’s final documented New Jersey concert.
Dolly Parton’s Broadway Show Is Still Scheduled for This Winter
Ms. Parton’s death comes just months before another major chapter of her story was scheduled to begin nearby.
DOLLY: A True Original Musical, the new Broadway musical based on Parton’s life, is scheduled to begin previews at the St. James Theatre in New York City on December 7th, 2026. Opening night had deliberately been scheduled for January 19th, 2027, which would have been Ms. Parton’s 81st birthday.
The show was initially announced under the title Hello, I’m Dolly before becoming DOLLY: A True Original Musical. It features a book by Parton and Maria S. Schlatter, direction by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, and both Ms. Parton’s existing hits and new music she wrote specifically for the production.
Among the songs included are I Will Always Love You, Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, and 9 to 5. Ms. Parton was not scheduled to portray herself in the production.
The musical had already received a sold-out developmental run in Nashville in 2025 before its planned Broadway transfer.
In announcing the Broadway production in July 2026, Ms. Parton described her life itself as a musical and a “grand ole opera,” saying she could not wait to bring it to Broadway.
As of August 25th, no announcement has been made indicating that the Broadway production will not move forward following Parton’s death.
Remembering Dolly Parton
Born January 19th, 1946, in rural Tennessee, Ms. Parton grew up as one of 12 children and transformed herself into one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world.
Her songwriting alone created a remarkable legacy. Parton wrote thousands of songs throughout her career, including Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, and I Will Always Love You. She crossed between country, pop, film, television, theater, and business while maintaining an unmistakable identity throughout it all.
Her impact was equally significant away from the stage. Ms. Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995, inspired by her father’s inability to read and write. The program grew from serving children in her home county to distributing millions of free books to children around the world. She also donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for COVID-19 research that helped support work connected to the Moderna vaccine.
Ms. Parton had been married to Carl Dean since 1966. Dean largely stayed outside the spotlight throughout his wife’s career and died in March 2025 at age 82, just short of the couple’s 59th wedding anniversary.
In the months before her own death, Ms. Parton continued working on music, philanthropy, business projects, and the Broadway musical based on her life.
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