08/25/2026
Today, East Tennessee and the world lost one of its brightest lights.
It is difficult to find words big enough for Dolly Parton. A legendary songwriter and performer. A brilliant businesswoman. A champion for children and literacy. A global icon.
But here in East Tennessee, Dolly was something more.
She was ours.
Dolly carried these mountains with her everywhere she went, and no matter how brightly her star shone, she never stopped shining some of that light back home.
We are deeply honored that some of that light found its way into the Bijou.
Dolly once told us that the Bijou was among the first stages she performed on as a young girl on her way to Nashville. Decades later, she returned to this theatre in ways our staff will never forget.
In 2019, she secretly slipped through our stage door to watch her niece Rebecca perform in the Smoky Mountain Burlesque Festival. Dressed in black and hidden behind the curtain of an upper opera box, Dolly watched the show without the audience ever knowing she was there.
Afterward, she joined the performers onstage for a photograph and encouraged us to share it publicly, hoping her appearance might help bring a larger crowd to the festival’s second night.
She could have made the moment about herself. Instead, she found a way to shine the light on everyone else.
That was Dolly.
Then, over Memorial Day weekend in 2024, Dolly came home to the Bijou again. For three unforgettable days, our theatre became the set for Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA – Family, Faith & Fables. Dolly stood on our stage surrounded by generations of the Parton and Owens families, singing the songs and telling the stories that trace her family’s journey all the way to the mountains of East Tennessee.
Working alongside Dolly and her team that week will forever be one of the crowning joys of our lives at the Bijou.
Today, we are heartbroken. But mostly, we are grateful.
Grateful that she never forgot where she came from. Grateful for everything she gave East Tennessee and the world. Grateful that she showed us how someone could dream enormously, succeed beyond imagination, and still make a habit of lifting everyone else up along the way.
And forever grateful that, from a young girl dreaming of Nashville to a global icon returning home to tell her family’s story, Dolly shared a little of her magic with this old theatre.
The Bijou feels a little different today knowing she won’t walk through our stage door again.
But what an incredible gift that she did.
We will always love you, Dolly. 🤍
