Emily Ann Roberts choked back tears after singing the final note of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” inside Dollywood’s Celebrity Theater and receiving a standing ovation for her tribute to the park’s late Dreamer-in-Chief.
“I thought that I would be fine, but when I first started singing it in the first show today, I thought, 'OK girl, you got to get it together. You can't cry. This is for Dolly,'” Roberts told Knox News immediately after her second Dollywood performance of the day Oct. 14.
Roberts has returned to Dollywood for a brief residency through Oct. 18. It’s her first time performing at the park since Parton died in August.
During her set, Roberts performs a medley of her favorite Parton songs, including “9 to 5,” “Here You Come
Again,” “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” and “Jolene.”
The Knoxville native is having a pivotal 2026 filled with award nominations, headlining shows and a new EP, “Thread,” set for release Oct. 16. So, it was only fitting for Roberts to add Dollywood to her busy schedule to honor and celebrate the legacy of one of her biggest inspirations.
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Performing at Dollywood feels different after losing Dolly Parton
Returning to the park felt bittersweet for Roberts following the loss of Parton.
“She meant so much to me, but everybody here who comes to the park loves Dolly,” Roberts said while sitting on a comfy white couch in what had been Parton’s personal Celebrity Theater dressing room.
“I think everybody is more emotional. I think that they're more sentimental. I think they're more thankful for the life that she lived and the music that she gave to us,” Roberts said.
The singer-songwriter hoped Dollywood audiences would appreciate the Parton medley in the middle of her set. But she had not expected a standing ovation after the Parton tribute, which occurred during both Oct. 14 performances.
“Seeing the crowd get up on their feet and sing along and cheer made me feel like maybe Dolly would have been proud,” Roberts said. “I would have loved to have been able to sing that in front of her and make her proud, from one East Tennessee girl to another.”
‘BAM’ Girl meets the Rhinestone Queen
If you’ve ever seen Roberts perform live, you might catch shimmers of Parton. Roberts has the talent, the humor, the “BAM girl” outfits and a special sparkle that invites the crowd to join her fun world for an hour or two.
Though it’s not always fair to compare musical artists, Roberts appreciates this compliment, in particular. “That means the world to me because I do look up to her the most,” Roberts said.
“I know I'm my own girl and I know that I bring my own thing to the table and that never upsets me when somebody compares me to somebody who has achieved all that I want to achieve. … If anything, (it makes me) feel like I'm on the right track,” she added.
Dolly Parton’s advice for Emily Ann Roberts
Roberts only met Parton once, but she aims to live a life of love and joy and to be a light in the world, just as Parton did. And she will forever carry the advice Parton gave her.
Roberts was just 16 years old when she was a contestant on “The Voice” and Parton served as mentor on the show. The teenager was intimidated by “fancy” questions about songwriting and business the other contestants were asking Parton.
“I thought I might never get to ask her anything else for the rest of my life – like, what do I want to know? I should have said, ‘Can I try on one of your wigs?’” Roberts joked.
Instead, she asked Parton what she did when she was feeling homesick, especially since this was Roberts’ first time being away from home. The two East Tennessee women connected through family music.
“And she said, ‘Oh, over the years I have gotten so homesick,’" Roberts recalled. "She said, ‘But anytime I start to feel that way, I get out my guitar and I sing those songs that I used to sing on the front porch with Mama and Daddy.’ And she said, ‘If I close my eyes, I can feel the mountain air on my skin, I can hear them singing along with me, and before I know it, I'm back home.’ And that meant so much to me."
That advice has come in handy over the past 11 years for Roberts, who now lives in Nashville and has been touring around the United States and even Europe.
“Music takes us right back home. And memories take us right back home, and we can reflect on those and recall those at any time, no matter where we are and we can go back home in our hearts,” Roberts said.
If you can’t see the Parton influence in her performance, you might hear it in her words. The sentiment is touchingly close to some of the last words Parton shared with Knox News before she died.
“Never forget where you came from," Parton told Knox News in March at Dollywood. "And always, kind of, go back home. You can always go back home in your heart and in your mind."
‘I’m still just Emily’
Coming back to Knoxville and performing in East Tennessee is also special for Roberts. She’s often on the road performing and misses out on birthdays and other family events. So, the Karns High School graduate makes sure to catch up with family and friends whenever she’s in town.
“I feel like it honestly humbles me a little bit because people are like, ‘Yeah, we know you. We went to high school with you,’" she said. “To them, I'm still just Emily. I'm not a big star. And so, it's good to come back home and to be around people that have known you your whole life because it'd be easy to get too big for your britches.”
And she makes sure to enjoy her old stomping grounds, especially the restaurants and ice cream shops. El Charro, Dead End BBQ, Cruze Farm and Bruster’s are among her go-to spots.
A star on the rise
Despite the humbling feeling when returning to her roots, Roberts is a star. The artist received her first Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Awards nominations this year, won a rising artist-writer of the year award and toured with Thomas Rhett.
Her five-track EP “Thread” marks a new chapter for her artistically as she becomes more vulnerable in her songwriting.
“It took me writing a bunch of surface-level songs for a long time to finally say, 'OK, we got to let the walls down. We got to let people in. That's the only way that we're going to be able to connect,'” she explained.
Roberts cowrote all the songs on “Thread.” The EP is available Oct. 16 and is part of a larger project that Roberts is working on.
How to see Emily Ann Roberts at Dollywood
Roberts will perform at Dollywood’s Celebrity Theater through Oct. 18. Her performances are at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. each day, and each show will have a slightly different set of songs.
All performances are included with an admission ticket to Dollywood ($94.99+). Shows are first come, first served, though, so you might want to plan accordingly to get a seat in the theater.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Emily Ann Roberts honors Dolly Parton with emotional Dollywood shows | Exclusive
