Almost anything named after or touched by Dolly Parton is now a memorial to the iconic entertainer.
Soon after Parton`s death was publicized Tuesday, fans from near and far began paying tribute at her newly opened Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop about an hour south of Nashville on I-65; her gated home in Brentwood; her Songteller Hotel in downtown Nashville, which is expected to be completed in September; and her Nashville studio on 12th South.
WPLN reporters and producers captured video and images on Tuesday afternoon at those locations, including interviews with Tammy Heil, Zachary, LA, Vicki Judkins, Brentwood, TN, Jules Wall, Alabama, Durrell Richard, New Orleans, LA, Mason Martinez, and Jamie Dillehay, Portland, TN.
Tap link in bio for more stories on Dolly Parton and a playlist of Dolly Parton songs on Spotify.
Video & Photos: Josh Deepan, Justin Barney, Meredith Nierman, Paige Pfleger,
Tasha A.F. Lemley
Video editing: LaTonya Turner
From the streets of Nashville and across Tennessee, heartbroken fans are paying tribute to Dolly Parton.
The outpouring of love is visible in places bearing Parton’s name, murals featuring her and her Brentwood home, where mountains of flowers and memorials are growing.
WPLN`s Justin Barney heard from fans as they shared raw emotions, remembered their favorite lyrics and performances, and reflected on their brushes with the music icon.
Hear the voices of fans Vicky Goff, Todd Phillips, Catherine Wind, Adam Pope, and Melody Mason.
Follow along for more as Nashville mourns the passing of this icon. Tap link in bio for more stories and a Dolly Parton playlist.
Photos: Justin Barney / WPLN
Dolly Parton’s death at the age of 80 on Tuesday marked the loss of an American country music legend.
It also marked the loss of a major philanthropist.
Parton, who grew up in extreme poverty in East Tennessee, spent decades donating millions to charitable causes that range from early education to healthcare.
WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams reports these include things like the Imagination Library, which has donated upwards of 300 million books to children under the age of 5, funding for Moderna’s COVID vaccine and support of Tennesseans in the aftermath of natural disasters.
For the full story, tap the link in bio.
Photos: Timothy D. Easley / AP Photo
Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80.
The artist`s death was confirmed in a statement from her representatives, as well as in a video posted to social media from her nephew Bryan Seaver.
"A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family," read the statement, which noted Parton "died peacefully" in Nashville, Tenn. on Aug. 25, 2026.
The news of Dolly Parton’s passing was released early Tuesday afternoon.
Fans in Nashville and across the world are heartbroken.
More to come as we collectively mourn the passing of this legend.
Follow for more and tap link in bio for the obituary.
Photos: Charlie Riedel, AP
A nationwide ban on hemp-derived THC products could decimate a $28-billion-dollar industry by the end of this year.
In Tennessee, growers and sellers are getting a taste of an economy without THC. Lawmakers there got ahead of Congress by passing a state ban on most THC products. Marianna Bacallao reports the ban has cost Tennessee more than $54 million dollars in tax revenue. The state has only collected 3% of what it had anticipated from a new hemp tax.
Last year, state lawmakers approved both the new tax and a ban on THCA, a type of THC that was legalized nationwide in 2018 through a loophole in the farm bill. That meant an end to the hemp industry’s most profitable products, like smokable flower and full-spectrum CBD. Many businesses had to close or move across state lines to continue growing.
Farmers like Lee Crabtree in Readyville pivoted from growing and selling full-spectrum CBD to more seasonal staples.
“I’m not making the money that I would have been making back when CBD was huge there for a minute,” Crabtree said.
The state has also collected less money from sales tax on hemp products compared to previous years.
Tap link in bio for full story and follow for more from reporter Marianna Bacallao.
In recent years, Nashville has only gotten more dangerous for pedestrians. At least 21 people have died while walking this year.
In an attempt to make streets safer for pedestrians, WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams reports city leaders are considering restricting where drivers are allowed to turn right on a red light. A bill that is set to be discussed by the Metro Council in September would ban right-on-red turns in much of downtown, school zones and at some high-traffic intersections.
The original bill would have banned right-on-red turns in all of Nashville’s urban core, but it has been refashioned to prohibit the turns in targeted areas. Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda wants to advance the measure at the Metro Council on Sept. 15.
Despite the revision, some of Nashville’s drivers are still hesitant.
Tap the link in bio for the full story.
Photos: Shane Potter, courtesy the Mayor’s archive
Hovvdy combats ‘Nashville ego death’ on their new album, Big World.
Two years ago, Hovvdy released their self-titled album. And it is a masterpiece. Martin says that when they went into the studio, their producer, Sarlo had a concept, “he described it as lo-fi in IMAX.
The self-titled album captured them looking back with nostalgia. Then that period came to a close. They were six albums in. Now what?
They moved to Nashville. They’d signed a publishing deal and started pitching songs to big artists in boardrooms. They found themselves playing the game. “You get closer to mid-life and you don’t really have the luxury of not grappling with the big world and big responsibilities,” Martin said.
There is a specific ego death that many musicians feel when they move to Nashville. Everyone is trying to make it in the music industry. Taylor said the most boring thing you can do in Nashville to make music. So they confronted that feeling.
“Big World” is Hovvdy where they are now. Experiencing the joys of marriage. Processing life difficulties. Finding comfort in their place in the world.
Tap link in bio for the full story and follow for more from Music and Culture reporter Justin Barney.
Photo: Taylor Clark
Recordings an artist has labored over can become casualties of terminated business partnerships. But Houston Kendrick couldn’t bear to let that happen.
He called on the highly creative friends in his tight-knit Nashville circle to help him finish his new album and visuals. One person he called was his bestie Prana Supreme, who’s navigated her own music career.
“As an artist myself, I completely understood the uphill battle that is trying to get a team of people to understand your vision,” Supreme says.
She assisted while Kendrick`s bud Blaire Beamer designed such complex looks that he grew nervous. He recalls protesting, “Blaire, this sounds crazy and expensive! I can’t do this!”
Beamer had faith in their resourcefulness. “As queer people from the South or who live in the South,” they reason, “it is intrinsic to our nature to know how to make a lot out of a little.”
And Beamer did just that, translating recycled materials into striking costumes. A mermaid skirt made from a shower curtain and CDs, a corset dyed with pomegranate and lines with old computer keyboard keys, and more that Kendrick donned for high-concept photo shoots.
The visuals they made accentuate how Kendrick defies dominant narratives in songs like “American Trash.” “In the chorus I say, ‘Look at me all in my American drag.’ To me, that`s really the whole point: This bravado, this exceptionalism, all the things that we are taught to feel proud about our American identity. All of it is drag. All of is a costume. And from my perspective, Black gay boy from Birmingham, Alabama, there are real things that I`m proud of.”
Kendrick can count the look and feel of his second album “Portrait of a Boy on Fire” among them. Even without a budget, he realized his grandest vision yet the DIY way.
Tap link in bio for full story from Senior Music Writer Jewly Hight.
Luke Rogers: Photo
Houston Kendrick + Blaire Beamer: Co-Creative Directors and Styling
Bernadine Gunderson: MUA + Styling + Co-Creative Director (Shine on U)
Noah Tidmore + Bryant Bural: Video
Oscar Villanueva: Video
Prana Diggs: Creative Assistant
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‘They’re putting kids’ lives at risk’: How abuse in a Tennessee businessman’s juvenile prisons remained under wraps
Tennessee’s highest-security youth prisons are operated by a single private company. Former staff say they felt pressure to hide abuse and other serious incidents from the state and to handle medical emergencies without calling 911.
Curious Nashville Returns!
Back by popular demand, the WPLN fan favorite series Curious Nashville is here to investigate oddities, share local history, tell stories of interesting people, and explain how local institutions operate.
You ask the questions, and we answer.
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