Dolly Parton promised she would always find a way to keep the lights on for her fans, and now she has done it one more time. On September 29, just weeks after her death at 80, the SongTeller Hotel and a sweeping new museum called “Dolly’s Life of Many Colors” opened their doors in Nashville.
It is not a somber place. It is exactly as joyful and colorful as the woman it honors.
Dolly Parton’s Life, In Many Colors
The 20,000-square-foot museum is billed as the most comprehensive exhibition of Dolly’s life ever assembled, tracing the journey from a one-room Tennessee cabin to the top of American music. Among the treasures on display are her wedding dress and her last official recorded concert, moments the public had never been invited into before.
A Place Built To Feel Like Her
The adjoining SongTeller Hotel holds 245 rooms and two venues, Jolene’s and Parton’s Live, created in partnership with Herschend Family Entertainment, the company behind Dollywood, according to Afar. The opening lands in a season of goodbyes, not long after her final, smiling public appearance.
Dolly always said she would be there for her people. Turns out she meant forever.