Dolly Parton has canceled her Las Vegas residency for good, saying ongoing health issues have left her unable to meet the physical demands of live performance — at least for now.
The country icon posted a video to Instagram on Monday explaining that while she is improving, the medications and treatments she is undergoing cause dizziness that rules out stage work. "Some of the meds and treatments make me a little swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say," she said in the clip. "And of course I can't be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on five-inch heels."
Parton's Dolly: Live in Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace had already been delayed once. Originally scheduled for June 2025, it was pushed to September 2026 before being scrubbed entirely.
The 80-year-old described her condition using an extended car metaphor. "When they raised the hood on this old antique, they realized that I need to rebuild my engine and that my transmission is slipping, my oil pan is leaking, my muffler's busted and my shocks and pistons need to be replaced," she said. "And for sure, my spark plugs need to be changed, because you know, as well as I know, that I can't lose my spark."
She was careful not to catastrophize. "I have great doctors, and they assure me that everything is treatable," she said, adding that her immune and digestive systems "got all out of whack over the past couple of years" following a period when she neglected her own care. Parton previously cited kidney stones as part of her health history, and noted she let other issues go unaddressed while her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, was ill before his death last year.
Parton addressed Dean's passing directly in the video, describing the past year as a series of painful firsts. "After going through a year of firsts — the holidays, and especially our wedding anniversary, and the date of his death, March 3 — that was hard for me," she said. "But I will always love him, and I will always miss him."
Despite canceling the residency, she said work continues on multiple fronts. She is recording new music, preparing for the opening of a Nashville museum and hotel, and actively rewriting Dolly: A True Original Musical, which is on track for a Broadway opening this fall or early winter. She invited Las Vegas ticketholders to make the trip to New York instead. "You get on to Vegas and have a big time," she said, "and I'll see you somewhere down the line."
