As the country gears up to celebrate Dolly Parton Day on Sept. 25 — aka 9/25, in honor of her classic song “9 to 5” — Brandi Carlile is remembering the first time she met the iconic singer, who died last month at the age of 80.
During a Sept. 25 appearance on TODAY, Carlile was reminded of a Facebook post she shared exactly 10 years ago to the day. On Sept. 25, 2016, she posted a photo with Parton and wrote about meeting the “Jolene” singer.
“Well it finally happened... I met the queen! I have no recollection of what I said but @dollyparton is the greatest preacher the world has seen!” Carlile captioned the photo of them.
“I didn’t know that,” Carlile said when told on TODAY the post was from exactly a decade earlier.
“That was backstage at her concert. I went, bought a ticket, went and saw that show,” she added.
The 11-time Grammy winner would go on to forge a relationship with Parton, explaining she had always longed to meet her.
“It’s like every little girl’s dream that ever plays a guitar and sings a song to grow up and find a way to meet Dolly Parton, so I was pretty on mission early on to meet Dolly,” she said.
The two would eventually work together at a music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2019, an experience that Carlile said was made all the better by Parton.
“I got tasked with, or the gift rather, of getting to curate the first all-female headlining set at the Newport Folk Festival, which is just like a history making place,” she said.
“It’s one of the most important festivals I think in in U.S. history, and I just knew we couldn’t do it without Dolly, and so that’s how I became I think close with Dolly, was through her deciding to come and grace the stage of that festival,” she added.
The “Party of One” singer recalled Parton had a very commanding presence.
“She was like half humor. She was formidable, and she was faithful,” she said.
She said Parton arrived at the festival with five-inch heels and fingernails.
“I was so taken aback when I saw that vision of her, and I realized the gravity of the situation, and my eyes started welling up with tears, despite myself, in the dressing room,” Carlile recalled.
“And I just said, ‘I’m really nervous.’ And we were her backing band, and I was like, ‘I feel maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.’ And she says, ‘Well, darling, we need to do something about that,’ and just took my face in her hands and prayed with me, and it was like transformative,” she added.
Carlile credited Parton’s ability to connect with people with her upbringing. Parton was born in Locust Ridge in rural Tennessee. One of 12 children, she was raised in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River.
“I think it has a lot to do with her growing up poor, and her role in her family, and knowing how to take care of people, but knowing how to lighten the mood, and her faith that permeated everything that she did,” Carlile said.
New York City, New Orleans and Portland, Oregon are among the cities celebrating Dolly Parton Day, but the honors for the beloved singer don’t stop with one day.
Nashville’s airport authority board unanimously voted earlier this month to begin the process to rename the airport after her. Her estate also announced a two-day festival called Dollyfest set for 2027 as a tribute to her.
Drivers in Ohio can also purchase a license plate with Parton’s image to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in the state, while American Airlines will change its daily flight from Dallas to Nashville to flight 925. Aer Lingus is also modifying its flight from Dublin to Nashville to make it flight 95.
