Nashville has hosted plenty of country music television specials. This one will carry a very different weight.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, the Country Music Association will turn Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts into the setting for a live, two-hour tribute to Dolly Parton.
The special, “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton,” will air from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern — 8 to 10 p.m. here in Nashville — on ABC. It will also stream live on Disney+ and be available the following day on Hulu.
Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80.
For Nashville, the location may be almost as meaningful as the TV broadcast itself.
Dolly’s Nashville Story Comes Back to Belmont
The Fisher Center is not simply a convenient theater that happened to be available.
Belmont had already developed a close creative relationship with Parton before her death.
In 2025, the Fisher Center hosted the world premiere of “DOLLY: A True Original Musical,” the stage musical based on her life and career.
Belmont and Parton also launched Dolly U, a program designed to give students hands-on experience in entertainment, media and other creative fields.
That means October’s tribute will return to a Nashville stage where Parton had already been building something new.
Belmont President Greg Jones said the university considers it a privilege to welcome Parton’s friends, fellow artists and fans for the tribute.
The setting also feels fitting for a city where Parton built so much of her career. She came to Nashville from East Tennessee as a young woman and eventually became something Nashville produces only rarely: a country star whose fame moved far beyond country music.
Now the industry she helped shape is bringing the celebration back here.
What Will the Dolly Parton Tribute Include?
CMA says the program will use live performances, personal stories and archival footage to tell Parton’s story as a singer, songwriter, entertainer, businesswoman and philanthropist.
Robert Deaton, a longtime CMA television producer, will serve as executive producer.
One major detail is still missing: the performers.
As of Sept. 17, CMA has not announced the singers, presenters or other special guests who will appear.
That leaves Nashville with a fairly unusual situation. We know the date. We know the building. We know the network. We even know the running time.
We just do not know yet who will walk onto the stage.
CMA says performer information, ticket details and additional partners will be announced in the coming weeks.
For people hoping to attend instead of watching from the couch, that ticket announcement is the one to watch closely. Belmont says fans can register for ticketing updates now.
This Is More Than Another Nashville Awards-Show Production
There is an obvious reason Nashville is the home for this event: country music is here.
But Parton’s connection to Tennessee stretches well beyond Music Row.
She was born in Sevier County. Her Imagination Library began there in 1995. Dollywood became one of East Tennessee’s major attractions. In Nashville, she built the recording, songwriting, television and business side of a career that eventually reached audiences around the world.
That statewide story will also show up in a practical way during the tribute.
CMA and Belmont say a portion of proceeds connected with the special will be donated to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Disney is also supporting the literacy program.
Belmont says the Imagination Library has now distributed more than 300 million books and mails more than 3 million books to children each month.
That gives the evening a purpose beyond looking backward at a famous career. Part of the money generated by the celebration will support one of Parton’s best-known projects.
Nashville Gets the Live Version
Most viewers will experience the tribute as a television program.
Nashville gets something different.
There will be a real audience inside a real theater while the production goes out live across the country. Friends, collaborators and artists will be gathering in the same city where Parton spent decades recording songs and doing business.
And unlike many large Nashville country events, this one is not headed for Nissan Stadium or Bridgestone Arena.
The Fisher Center is a theater on a university campus, which should give the production a different feel from a giant awards show.
The building is also now tied to the final chapter of Parton’s creative work. Her musical premiered there. Dolly U grew from that relationship. Now it will host the national television tribute following her death.
That makes Belmont more than the address on the press release.
It makes it part of the story.
What Nashville Fans Need to Know
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026
Nashville airtime: 8 p.m. Central
Location: Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University
Watch: ABC and Disney+ live; Hulu the following day
Length: Two hours
Performers: Not yet announced
Tickets: Details have not yet been released; Belmont and CMA are accepting sign-ups for ticket updates.
There will almost certainly be much more attention on that performer list once CMA begins releasing names.
For now, though, Nashville already knows its role.
When the country music world gathers to tell Dolly Parton’s story, it will do it from a stage in her adopted hometown.
Sources
Country Music Association, Sept. 16, 2026: official announcement of the television special, broadcast schedule, Belmont partnership, charitable contribution and forthcoming ticket and performer information.
CMA announcement
Belmont University, Sept. 16, 2026: Fisher Center location, Belmont-Parton history, Dolly U and Imagination Library information.
Belmont University announcement
ABC, Sept. 16, 2026: television and streaming schedule.
ABC event information
Taste of Country, Sept. 16, 2026: secondary reporting supplied for this story.
