Kacey Musgraves to Headline Dolly Parton VMA Tribute in 2026

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Kacey Musgraves Will Lead Dolly Parton Tribute at 2026 VMAs

The performance will mark the country singer's first onstage appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in five years

By Larisha Paul

Larisha Paul

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September 23, 2026

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Kacey Musgraves will honor and celebrate Dolly Parton with a special tribute performance set for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards . Set for Sept. 27, the performance will mark the country singer’s first onstage appearance at the VMAs in five years.

“The world feels a lot less sparkly all of a sudden,” Kacey Musgraves wrote on X following Parton’s death in August. “Dolly. This really really hurts.” Musgraves found comfort in imagining Parton reuniting with her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025. “So glad she’s with her Carl Dean,” Musgraves said. “No one talk to me today.”

Currently in the middle of her Middle of Nowhere tour, Musgraves paid tribute to Parton during the Boston and New York stops with performances of “Here You Come Again” and “9 to 5.” “I’m not over it, and I’m never gonna be over it,” Musgraves told the crowd at Madison Square Garden. “The world definitely lost a light, and it’s hard for me to talk about. And I know how much Dolly meant to everybody also in this room. I think why it feels so dark is it’s already hard to navigate these times right now, and then we lose a matriarch like that. It’s the closest thing we’ve ever had to royalty.”

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_Originally reported by [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/2026-vmas-dolly-parton-tribute-kacey-musgraves-1235630339/)._