Dollywood's I Will Always Love You Music Festival: A Gift of Music and More

Dollywood’s I Will Always Love You Music Festival is a springtime bonus and a fun way to celebrate the park’s opening for a new season. The event celebrates the art of songwriting with differing styles of music. Key offerings include the production From The Heart: The Life & Music of Dolly Parton, a musical act from Heidi Parton, a Dolly Parton sing-a-long, and festival-specific food and merchandise.

During the Heidi Parton's Kin & Friends show, Heidi Parton talked about her family’s legacy and how proud she was of Aunt Dolly. Heidi, her cousin, and other performers sang a mix of popular songs from the decades by various artists, including some of her aunt’s. What resonated with me was how she offered her show as a gift of music to the audience.

The festival was indeed a musical gift.

Music at the I Will Always Love You Music Festival

We explored The Dolly Parton Experience to learn more about her musical accomplishments. This interactive museum and collection of exhibits covers her family, career journey, musical collaborations, fashion throughout the years at the Behind The Seams display, DreamSong theater playing Heartsong The Movie, merchandise location, and tour bus. The museum and exhibits are always open and were not festival-specific, but I encourage you to make them part of this festival experience.

Video of Dolly is played on a guitar at The Dolly Parton Experience.

There was no shortage of music being played at the park. In addition to Heidi Parton’s show in the DreamSong theater, guests could enjoy the show Trio, Again. This featured the band Three Times a Lady. It highlighted some of Trio's music collaborations from the 1980s, which presented the harmonies of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. Guests walked away with both musical entertainment and, depending on their age, either memories of these harmonies or an educational introduction to them.

Dolly Parton's niece performed at the DreamSong theater during the I Will Always Love You Music Festival.

Guests learned about Dolly's career during the live stage show From The Heart: The Life & Music of Dolly Parton. The production took the audience from Dolly's apparent talent as a young child, through making it in Nashville, and later successes.

Park goers could also enjoy the Kingdom Heirs Southern gospel group, which regularly performs at Dollywood. An outdoor theater provided a Dolly Parton sing-a-long, led by two employees who sang and engaged with the audience with an animated Dolly singing on a screen. Words were projected on the screen to allow everyone to sing along, even if they did not know the lyrics.

Food

A variety of beverages (milkshake, spritzer, hot chocolate, and hot tea) were available for purchase. Desserts included cupcakes, a marshmallow treat, a brownie, a strawberry cheesecake milkshake, a donut ice cream sandwich, a strawberry crunch funnel cake, and a bread pudding ice cream sundae. Other offerings included a turkey sweet potato bowl, a baked potato with smoked pork shoulder, a baked potato with creamy spinach and artichoke, a sausage and cabbage skillet, smoky corn chowder, loaded BBQ potato chips, red beans and rice, beef chuck roast (with mashed potatoes, carrots, and crispy-fried onions), BBQ chicken melt, BBQ shrimp and grits, spinach and artichoke pizza, vegetable cobb salad, white bean queso dip, and brisket French onion soup.

Red beans and rice were one of the festival-specific food offerings.

Atmosphere

It was a time to relax and let the music do its magic. Like all gifts, it had to be received. This is not about going to a theme park, and if you happen to hear a song on a speaker, great. This is about learning, absorbing, and letting go a little bit. Do not worry; it is fun and not work. It is still theme park fun. You just also have the added benefit of wholesome musical entertainment.

The park also had decorations to enjoy and photo opportunities for families. Before entering the park, a picture with an I Will Always Love You Musical Festival sign is available. As you enter the park through the main entrance and turn right, you walk under a canopy of pink decorations that make a fun sound when the wind blows. As you walk a short distance, you can take your picture with large letters that spell love.

A pink canopy provided a photo opportunity.

What Makes This Festival Special

There was a slightly different feel in the air during this festival. A sense of lightheartedness filled the day, as well as a feeling of joy when seeing guests swaying to music as they sat to sample foods.  

The festival was indeed a gift.

While walking through the park and listening to the music being played through speakers, I heard Dolly singing a song with which I was unfamiliar. It was a rap-like version of her song 9 to 5. I asked my husband to walk off the pathway so we could use an app to learn the song's name. As we stood there, he asked, “Is Dolly rapping?”

The festival provided a chance to enjoy music without worrying about (or getting distracted by) too many things, yet it left me fulfilled.

Singing some of Dolly’s greatest hits at the top of my lungs without a care in the world about who was hearing my out-of-tune vocals during the outdoor sing-a-long was one of the most fun and carefree things I have done in a long time. I walked away with this experience as one of my favorite memories of the festival. I noticed children and children at heart were enjoying this event.

A music festival sign hangs on a pole near the park entrance.

Can you enjoy the usual park activities and not partake in the festival? Yes.

Can you enjoy the festival activities, and not the usual park activities? Yes.

Can you enjoy a mix of the festival and the park? Yes.

Can you attend and experience valuable family time? Also yes.

All of these are gifts. Some are musical, and some are not.

Singing my heart out to some of Dolly’s most popular songs and feeling carefree: That was a gift.

Being in the park and hearing a different version of 9 to 5: That was a gift.

Hearing my husband ask if Dolly was rapping: That was a gift.

Stopping and listening to the pink decorations make a pleasing rustling sound in the breeze that brought me childlike happiness: That was a gift.

The festival was a time to relax and let Dolly’s music and park be a gift. The next time you visit a theme park, remember to accept the gifts of family time, food, music, feeling carefree, and memories. If you need help deciding which Dollywood resort to choose, you can learn about your hotel options here.