Following Dolly Parton’s death at age 80, stars gathered at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Saturday night to honor the queen of country music.

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Parton made her debut on the Opry stage in 1959 at just 13 years old after being introduced by Johnny Cash. That night, she performed George Jones’ “You Gotta Be My Baby.” Ten years later, she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969 at the age of 23.

On Saturday, Carly Pearce, Kathy Mattea, T. Graham Brown, Molly Tuttle, Dan Tyminski, Channing Wilson, Belle Frantz and Jelly Roll were among those who performed tributes to Parton, who died peacefully in Nashville on Tuesday after a “brief battle with cancer,” her reps previously announced.

After Pearce opened the special ceremony with “Those Memories of You,” Opry senior vice president and executive producer Dan Rogers took to the stage to share some heartfelt words about Parton.

“Here I stand on the most famous stage in country music, beginning to talk about one of the world’s most iconic artists. A lady who I truly believe was the most beloved human being in the world,” he began. “It’s enough to make anyone feel pretty inadequate and quite small, but Dolly never made anyone feel small. To the contrary, she lifted us up — our lives and our spirits. Dolly always knew exactly what to say and exactly when to say it.”

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After reminding the crowd of Parton’s biggest achievements and the impact she had on people around the globe, Rogers added, “I could go on and on about Dolly’s impact on the world we live in. Any of us could. It’s Dolly Parton, for goodness’ sakes. But knowing we could never scratch the surface on Dolly’s entire legacy, I’ll instead limit tonight’s dedication on this particular stage to Dolly’s impact on this Opry we all love.”

The night featured several more touching performances and memorable stories about the icon, including one from the Grammy winner’s niece, Jada Star, who took to the stage to sing “The Orchard” from Parton family’s 2024 album Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith and Fables.

The ceremony later concluded with Pearce returning to the stage alongside surprise guest Jelly Roll and several other stars to perform a rendition of “9 to 5.” But Parton still got the last word when a video of her 50th Opry anniversary performance of “I Will Always Love You” started to play on the screen afterward, as those on the stage and in the audience watched.

“It’s been a wonderful life for me and I appreciate all of you, and this song kind of sums up how I feel about you,” Parton said in the video. “So thank you so much, and I will always love you.”

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