Country royalty, bluegrass virtuosos, Broadway voices and contemporary hitmakers will gather at Belmont University for a live celebration of an American original

Proceeds from the October 21 broadcast will benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Nashville will turn its spotlight toward one of Tennessee’s most enduring cultural icons when the Country Music Association and ABC present CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton, a two-hour live tribute staged at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.

Announced on ABC’s Good Morning America, the evening’s lineup reads like a sweeping portrait of Parton’s influence: Ashley McBryde, Béla Fleck, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Ella Langley, Kelsea Ballerini, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Lady A, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Lukas Nelson, Molly Tuttle, Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs, Sierra Hull, Vince Gill and Zac Brown are set to perform. Amy Grant and Kimberly Williams-Paisley will join as special guests, with additional surprise tributes promised from across the entertainment world.

Moving easily from the Grand Ole Opry to Broadway and from bluegrass virtuosity to contemporary country, the gathering reflects the remarkable range of Parton’s creative legacy. Fellow Country Music Hall of Fame members will share the bill with today’s chart leaders and artists whose work bears the imprint of her wit, warmth and singular gift for storytelling. Executive producer Robert Deaton will shape the broadcast.

Belmont students will have their own place in the celebration through a university ensemble performance. Their appearance extends Belmont’s “Dolly U” programming, which invites students to study Parton not only as an artist, but also as an entrepreneur and a model of purpose-driven creativity.

The special will air live Wednesday, October 21, from 9 to 11 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ in the United States and internationally, with next-day streaming on Hulu. It will be filmed before a live audience at the Fisher Center, placing Nashville’s music community—and one of the city’s most elegant performance spaces—at the heart of the evening.

Beyond the marquee names and televised glamour, the tribute carries a philanthropic purpose. CMA and Belmont University will direct a donation from proceeds to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, while Disney is also supporting the organization’s mission of helping children imagine larger possibilities through books.

Founded in 1995 and inspired by Parton’s father, who could not read or write, the Imagination Library began in Sevier County, Tennessee. It has since grown into the world’s leading early-childhood book-gifting program, delivering more than 300 million free books across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland. Today, more than 3 million age-appropriate books are mailed to children each month, one volume at a time from birth to age five.

It is a fitting beneficiary for an artist whose songs have long made private hopes feel universal. On this October night, Nashville will celebrate the voice, imagination and generosity of Dolly Parton—and the many lives her work continues to touch.

To learn more about the broadcast, visit CMAworld.com/dollyparton. To support the Imagination Library, visit the donation page or imaginationlibrary.com.