The first thing you knew about the Dollyverse – Dolly Parton’s much hyped South by Southwest appearance – was that it was powered by blockchain: It was streamed on blockchain! In-person attendees got a free Dolly Parton-themed NFT! Blockchain Creative Labs promos were broadcasted over giant screens!
The second was that Parton’s appearance at the Moody Friday evening was partly to tease a new novel she wrote with every grandparent’s favorite writer James Patterson – Run, Rose, Run – and a companion album of the same name.
All of that sounds like a SXSW madlib, an optimized amalgamation of the buzzy activations that have been crammed down attendees’ throats since the conference started last week. Of course SXSW was going to make hay about its first ever Dolly appearance (“It never came up,” she succinctly explained about why she’d never been on the bill). But Dolly the novelist hawking NFTs? This late in the week it’s easy to get cynical that it’s pure, sanitized promotion.
Until she walks on stage, that is.
Dolly could sell you a vacuum cleaner. Dolly could sell you a cheaply made set of encyclopedias. Dolly could sell you an NFT version of the album Run, Rose, Run even though – hand to God – you still couldn’t explain an NFT if your life depended on it. And she could do it all without so much of a mention of any of those things at all. What made Parton’s appearance so special is that, no matter what PR machine got her there, she showed up with her full self, blissfully untethered from anything but being Dolly Parton. Even powered by the blockchain, Parton at the Moody was still pure as the driven snow.
The first part of the evening was notably rocky. Moderated by fan favorite actor Connie Britton, the conversation with co-writer Patterson (who attempted to match Parton’s rhinestones with a few accents on his lapel) was plagued by onstage audio issues. From the house things sounded fine, but it was clear the participants were having trouble hearing each other despite sitting near feet from the next person.
Still, there were nuggets to take away: Patterson called Parton “the smartest person I have ever worked with,” which is notable considering one of his past novel collaborators was President Bill Clinton. Parton also revealed that the thriller had already been picked up for movie rights, which would feature Parton and a collaboration with actor/mega producer Reese Witherspoon.
After a 15-minute break, Parton returned to the stage, Britton and Patterson replaced by three back-up singers and a seven-piece band. This is what we’d entered the Dollyverse for.
For that next hour, Parton poured it out on stage. The first three songs of the set were dedicated to Run, Rose, Run the album, performed by Parton – stalking the stage in backless rhinestone platform heels – with the same fervor as anything from her canon. But, of course, it was the mega hits that the packed crowd anticipated the most. Parton delivered: She did largely a capella versions of spiritual “Precious Memories” and “Smokey Mountain Memories,” her crisp soprano untouched by time, soaring into every corner of the room. Speaking of memories, she peppered storytelling in between songs, tapping into her Appalachian upbringing and early career to lend context to some of her best known cuts.
And those are the moments the crowd will remember: The roar of recognition from the syncopated keyboard chords that kick off “9 to 5,” the stilling rendition of all-time great “I Will Always Love You,” the breathless heart of “Coat of Many Colors.” Parton embodied the urgency of “Jolene” and the satisfying lift of “Here You Come Again,” fresh as the day she wrote them. If we needed the blockchain to take us there, sign me up.
This article appears in March 18 • 2022.