Dolly Parton’s Three Mega-Projects Signal Her Triumphant Return After Health Break
In September, Dolly Parton announced that she was taking a step back from performing amid health troubles. She recently shared an update with fans to say that she wasn’t quite ready to start performances again. Still, her busy upcoming schedule shows that she’s ready to make a comeback.
Dolly Parton took a step back from her career for her health
Last year, Parton shared a health update with fans. She postponed a planned Las Vegas residency and rescheduled the dates for September 2026.
“I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts,” she wrote. “As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures. As I joked to them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile checkup, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”
She said that she has no plans to step away permanently, though.
“Don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet,” she wrote. “But, I believe He is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you. I love you and thank you for understanding.”
In a recent update, Parton cancelled the postponed shows.
She has many projects coming up
While Parton isn’t ready to get on stage again, she has other projects lined up. In June, she will open her SongTeller Hotel and Coat of Many Colors Museum in Nashville. She is also working on a musical about her life.
“I’m working hard on getting my museum and my hotel open in Nashville later this year, and I’m spending a lot of time writing and reworking my Broadway musical,” she said in a video on social media. “It’s called Dolly: A True Original Musical, and that’s going to be opening later in New York this fall or early winter.”
She joked that she’s always busy, even when she isn’t feeling her best.
“Oh, I know you’re thinking, ‘Lord, sick or well, that girl’s always promoting something,’” she said. “Well, that’s true, but that’s how you get it done.”
Dolly Parton shared an update about her health
While announcing the cancellation of her Vegas residency, Parton shared an update on her health. She has been dealing with kidney stones.
“I have some good news and a little bad news,” she said. “But the good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day.”
She said that she’s not quite in a position where she can be onstage.
“Now, the bad news is, it’s gonna take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level, because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say. And of course, I can’t be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars, and such on five-inch heels, and you know that I’m going to be wearing them. Not to mention all those heavy, rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big personality.”
She then looked down at her chest.
“Lord, those would make anybody swimmy-headed,” she joked. “But just think of me as an old classic car, that once restored, can be better than ever.”
