Dolly Parton Sets Las Vegas Concerts for National Finals Rodeo Week

Dolly Parton is no newcomer to Las Vegas, having first played shows in that town over 40 years ago. But as the country star announced this morning, she will be returning to the gambling mecca for the first time since 1993, by way of a limited-run December engagement of six relatively intimate shows.

Set for Dec. 4 through 13, the concerts will take place at the 4,100-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace, which has also hosted recent residencies by Adele, Shania Twain, Usher, Elton John, and Cher. The shows (which Parton’s camp is not officially deeming a residency) promise a set heavy on Parton classics like “Jolene” (most recently covered by Beyoncé, of course), “9 to 5,” and “I Will Always Love You.” According to a release, VIP packages also include “a personal photo op with Dolly herself.”

In a statement, Parton said, “I haven’t worked Vegas in years and I’ve always loved singing there.” She is indeed hardly a newcomer to the city’s glittery showrooms. In the early Eighties, she played nearly two dozen shows at the Riviera Hotel, and in 1993, she headlined four concerts at the Mirage. Meanwhile, a Parton impersonator has been part of the “Legends in Concert” series in Vegas on and off since the Nineties. (One of them had been a Disney secretary before landing that job.)

If the news of Parton’s special shows weren’t any more monumental, or more evocative of the Urban Cowboy moment in pop culture over 40 years ago, Parton’s string of gigs will take place during National Finals Rodeo, a 10-day event in which pro riders will be competing for the title of National Rodeo Champion (and maybe, possibly, looking for love in all the wrong places).

Parton isn’t the only country or pop act settling into a run of shows in Vegas this year. Garth Brooks, Maroon 5, and Kelly Clarkson will each be doing residencies, while the Eagles, Kenny Chesney, and Backstreet Boys, perform at the Sphere.

In March, Parton’s husband Carl Dean died, but the ever indefatigable Parton has carried on. Following in the footsteps of her recent album of rock covers, she and Mötley Crüe just remade the band’s “Home Sweet Home” as a charity single. Dolly: A True Original Musical, a theatrical show based on her life, opens in Nashville next month. In addition to Parton classics, the musical is promising new material written by Parton.

And neither is Beyoncé the only one keeping Parton’s cultural imprint visible. Jennifer Aniston is spearheading a remake of 9 to 5, although Parton has said she will be not partaking in it alongside her former costars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. As Parton recently said, “But I think a lot of it is that, you know, we’re all older now. We’re not gonna look that good on the big screen. All of us up there with all those beautiful, young, fresh people … so I don’t know.”