Dolly Parton told fans on May 4 that medication side effects forced her to cancel her upcoming Las Vegas concerts, offering the most detailed public account yet of the health challenges she has been managing for several years.
The 80-year-old country music star posted an Instagram video across her social media accounts sharing what she called "some good news, and a little bad news." The good news, she said, was that her treatment was working. "The good news is, I'm responding really well to meds and treatments, and I'm improving every day," Parton said.
Parton did not specify a diagnosis, but she described a combination of problems that have accumulated over time. She said she has "always had problems with my kidney stones," joking that "they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee." Beyond that, she said her immune and digestive systems "got all out of whack over the past three years," and that her medical team is "working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those."
The Las Vegas cancellation is the second delay of those shows. Eight months ago, Parton first announced a postponement on Instagram, citing "health challenges" that would require "a few procedures." The latest cancellation comes because, as she explained, "some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed ... and of course, I can't be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on five-inch heels."
Despite the setback, Parton was clear that she has not stepped back from work entirely. "The truth is, I am still working. I still do videos. I still record. I run up and down to Dollywood now and then," she said. She also described active work on a museum and hotel project in Nashville, and said she is spending significant time reworking her upcoming Broadway musical, Dolly: A True Original Musical, which is scheduled to open in fall or early winter of 2026.
Parton also addressed the death of her husband, Carl Dean, who passed away on March 3, 2025, at the age of 82. The two had married in 1966, and Dean spent most of their marriage out of the public eye. Parton thanked fans for the support she received following his death. "A lot of you've been concerned about me and Carl, and you were so great about that," she said. "I will always love him, and I will always miss him, but you would be surprised at how much your love and concern meant to me during that time."
Her doctors, she said, have given her reason to be cautious but not alarmed. They told her "everything I have is treatable," and while she acknowledged the situation is "serious business," she said she is "doing really well" with "great doctors" guiding her care. She said she hopes to be "up to snuff again soon," though she acknowledged it will take time before she is ready to return to full stage performance.
No new dates for the Las Vegas concerts have been announced.
