In 2019, Dolly Parton was awarded the MusiCares honor of “Person of the Year”. To celebrate this momentous—and frankly long overdue—achievement, some of the country legend’s biggest fans came together to honor her with a star-studded concert. Beginning on April 7th, a professionally recorded concert film entitled Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute will be available to stream on Netflix.
The evening saw appearances from some of the biggest names in country and pop music including Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus (Parton’s goddaughter), Katy Perry, Leon Bridges, Brandi Carlile, Margo Price, and many more in addition to Parton herself. This ceremony—which occurred just prior to the 2019 Grammys—marked the first time a country music artist had been awarded the honor since its foundation in 1991. Parton joins fellow “Person of the Year” recipients including Carole King, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and more.
Related: Dolly Parton Gets The Moderna Vaccine She Helped Develop [Watch]
Hosted by Little Big Town—who also performed—the concert raised over $6.7 million for MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s charity that provides assistance to musicians and their families with urgent health needs.
“I am so happy that Netflix is going to be showing the MusiCares tribute to me. MusiCares has done so much for the people in this industry and continues to be a beacon of light for those in need,” Parton said in a statement. “I am so proud and impressed with all of the great artists. It was such a joy and a humbling experience to be able to sit and watch all of the great artists singing songs that I had written or had been a part of.”
Ahead of the April 7th release, Netflix has shared a trailer for Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute which offers a preview of the extravagant event.
Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute (Trailer)
[Video: Netflix]
Last year, Aerosmith received the “Person of the Year” award, the second full band to ever receive the award (following Fleetwood Mac in 2018). The lead-up to the award show was filled with suspense and controversy, however, as the band became embroiled in a dispute which ultimately lead to the dismissal of drummer Joey Kramer—who alleges that he was required to audition for his own job after returning from an injury-induced sabbatical.
In the end, the 2020 “Person of the Year” event went off without incident as Kramer joined his bandmates onstage to accept the award, though he did not perform with the band that evening. The public spat between Aerosmith and Kramer later came to a peaceful resolution in February 2020 when the drummer rejoined the band onstage during its DEUCES WILD run in Las Vegas, shortly before COVID-19 put a halt to all live events.