AUSTIN, Texas — Country superstar and icon Dolly Parton is headed to her first South by Southwest festival this year.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee is partnering with FOX Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL) to launch “Dollyverse,” an audience-centric Web3 experience, according to the SXSW website.
Parton is slated to make her first-ever appearance at the festival March 18 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater. Her event will kick off with a conversation between her and James Patterson, the co-author of Parton’s original novel, “Run, Rose, Run,” and its accompanying album. The conversation will be moderated by Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee Connie Britton. Following the conversation, Parton will perform a live showcase with some songs from “Run, Rose, Run,” which is expected to drop Monday, March 7.
“Dolly Parton’s participation in SXSW 2022 fulfills one of our longtime goals and we’re absolutely ecstatic to have her involved in this year’s event in such a unique way,” said Hugh Forrest, chief programming officer for SXSW. “Beyond her legendary status in the music industry, Dolly embodies the SXSW spirit as she extends her unique brand of creativity across many verticals. Most importantly, Dolly serves as an inspirational and unifying role model for millions of fans – spanning different ages, occupations, and viewpoints – from all over the world.”
The performance is only available to SXSW badge holders and is first-come, first-serve basis, depending on the venue capability.
The event will be streamed online for free on “Dollyverse.” The “Dollyverse” will also be releasing limited-edition, official and certified Dolly NFT collectibles available for purchase during and after SXSW. These collectibles will include NFTS of the “Run, Rose, Run” album and Dolly-inspired NFT artwork.
“There’s almost nothing more important to me than connecting with my fans. And I’m almost always up for trying something new and different. I’d say releasing NFTs at my first ever appearance at SXSW, with James Patterson by my side, definitely counts as new and different!” Parton said.
In-person attendees of the event will receive free NFTs, while virtual participants will receive tokens to authenticate their attendance.
“Dolly is a true pioneer who brings the highest level of quality, heart and authenticity to everything she touches,” said Scott Greenberg, CEO of BCL. “Which is why she’s the perfect person to introduce to the mainstream audience an easy-to-use, Web3 experience that will live stream her SXSW event and provide them the opportunity own and enjoy her music – not just a right to stream it – all designed to bring Dolly even closer to her fans.”
Additional information regarding the drop of the limited-edition NFTs and Parton’s performance will be announced in the coming days.