Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Song in Symphony

Dolly Parton is the most honored and revered multi-hyphenate of all time and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her current album, Rockstar, made history by scoring the biggest album debut sales week of her seven-decade career and earning her six No. 1s on the Billboard charts—Top Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Country Albums, Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, and Independent Albums. The landmark album also claimed the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, her highest position ever. Achieving 27 RIAA-certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, she has had 26 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, a record for a female artist. Parton is the first artist to have topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary, Christian AC Songs, Hot Country Songs, Christian Airplay, Rock Digital Songs, Country Airplay, and Dance/Mix Show Airplay radio charts. Parton became the first country artist honored as Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year given out by NARAS. She has 49 career Top-10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 120 career-charted singles over the past 50 years. In October 2023, she released her second New York Times Best Seller coffee table book in a trilogy called Behind The Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. The first of the series was bestselling coffee table book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.

In 2014, the RIAA recognized her impact on recorded music with a plaque commemorating more than 100 million units sold worldwide. She has amassed 11 Grammy Awards and 52 nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 10 Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including a nod for Entertainer of the Year; four People’s Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted as a member of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame.

Parton has the largest fan base of all measured music artists in the YouGov database at No. 1 with 198 million. She has the No. 1 Q Score of all performers, solo and group. She is one of only 25 celebrities in the E-poll database to have an E-score of 100 and has maintained that perfect rating for eight years. She recently won Best Brand Award, Celebrity, Influencer and Fashion at the 2023 Licensing International Excellence Awards.

To date, Parton has donated over 255 million books to children around the world with her Imagination Library. Her children’s book, Coat of Many Colors, was dedicated to the Library of Congress to honor the Imagination Library’s 100 millionth book donation. In March of 2022, Parton released the book Run Rose Run which she co-authored with James Patterson, which sat at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List for five weeks, a record for this decade. She also released an accompanying album of the same name with original songs inspired by the book which reached No. 1 on three charts simultaneously—Country, Americana/Folk, and Bluegrass Albums. From her “Coat of Many Colors” while working “9 to 5,” no dream is too big and no mountain too high for the country girl who turned the world into her stage.

Jack Everly currently serves as principal pops conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony and the Naples (Florida) Philharmonic. He was previously principal pops conductor of the Baltimore Symphony and National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa) and continues to guest conduct both ensembles. He has also appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center, and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 1991.

Now in his second decade as music director of the National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth on PBS, Everly leads the National Symphony on the West Lawn of the US Capitol, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees and reaching millions of viewers. For 14 years he was also music director and conductor of the American Ballet Theatre, where he was originally appointed by Mikhail Baryshnikov. In addition to his ABT tenure, he teamed with Marvin Hamlisch on Broadway shows including A Chorus Line and The Goodbye Girl. He conducted Carol Channing hundreds of times in Hello, Dolly!, including two separate Broadway productions and on tour.

Everly is a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and was awarded an honorary doctorate of music in 2021 from his alma mater. He is a recipient of the 2023 Sagamore of the Wabash Award (the State of Indiana’s highest honor), a 2015 Indiana Historical Society Living Legends Award, and holds an honorary doctorate of arts from Franklin College.

Hollie Hammel is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, producer, and background vocalist. Originally from Nashville, she earned a bachelor of arts in music education from Belmont University. During her decade in Music City, Hammel toured and recorded with celebrated artists such as Joss Stone, Sara Evans, Hans Zimmer, Brandi Carlile, and others. Her talents have also been featured on projects for Disney, where she lends her voice and likeness to several beloved characters in Harmonious (streaming on Disney+), as well as recordings played in Disney Parks around the world.

Now splitting her time between Los Angeles and Nashville, Hammel is deeply passionate about fostering creative communities in both cities. When not collaborating with other artists, she dedicates herself to writing, recording, and producing her own original music. She is currently in the process of carefully crafting her next album, recording and shaping her sound in both cities.

CMT Next Women of Country and Billboard Country Rookie Julie Williams is turning heads in Nashville’s Americana music scene with her compelling blend of country storytelling, soft-yet-powerful vocal performance, and indie folk production. A member of the Black Opry Revue, Williams was named in Rissi Palmer’s Color Me Country Class of 2021, featured on Wide Open Country’s list of “10 Country Acts Poised for a Breakout Year in 2023,” and her single “Southern Curls” was covered by CMT, PBS NewsHour, and numerous music publications. Building her career on the road, Julie has captivated audiences at festivals such as Newport Folk Festival, CMA Fest, Tortuga Music Fest, High Water Festival, and AmericanaFest, and has shared the stage with acts across genres, including Jason Isbell, Allison Russell, Mt. Joy, Devon Gilfillian, Brittney Spencer, and Will Hoge. An activist at heart, Williams launched Green Room Conversations, a series of performances and speaking engagements on college campuses to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the music industry. In October 2024, she released her EP Tennessee Moon, which was featured in Billboard, Nashville Scene, and Entertainment Tonight, and listed on NPR music critic Ann Power’s list of best albums released by Nashville artists in 2024. In May, Williams released her new ’90s country-inspired song “The Women Who Made Me.” With a music video featuring country icon Trisha Yearwood and Williams’s mother, the song is a love letter to all of the strong women who made her who she is.

Katelyn Drye is a singer, songwriter, and lover of all things Dolly. She is exactly one-half of the country duo The Dryes, alongside her husband Derek. Recognized by Country Living Magazine as “the new hot country duo to watch” after premiering on season 22 of NBC’s The Voice, the Dryes have accumulated more than 12 million global streams, catching the attention of USA Today, Rolling Stone, People, American Songwriter, and Billboard, among others. Their sassy single “Dolly Would” is the anthem to a longtime hero, Dolly Parton, which together with their alluring, soulful track “House on Fire” reached No. 1 on CMT’s 12 Pack Countdown. Their summer single “Daydrinkin’” charted on iTunes on release day and has garnered more than five million views across social media, while their newest single, “Ain’t God Good,” reflects on the goodness found in and out of the difficult times we all face in life.

Derek Drye is from Thomasville, North Carolina, and found his voice on the guitar when we was 14 years old. He has studied blues and jazz theory, played the Ryman & Grand Ole Opry, toured the country as a sideman, and now tours as a music duo with his wife, Katelyn, under the name the Dryes. Their music merges classic country tones with a modern, lyrical wit. Mentioned in Rolling Stone, CMT, USA Today, and even appearing on NBC’s The Voice, the duo has found their stride as a touring duo.

Lindsey Miller is a Nashville-based touring and session guitarist who has performed and recorded with a variety of artists and musicians spanning several musical genres. Growing up outside Kansas City, Lindsey picked up her first guitar at age 10. Although first inspired by Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, and ’90s alternative rock, it was her discovery of hometown guitar hero Pat Metheny that initiated her into the world of jazz. Miller’s talent and ever-growing interest in jazz improvisation earned her a scholarship to attend the University of North Texas, where she performed in the Two O’Clock Lab band and earned a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies. She then went on to complete a master’s degree in music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

She has toured with artists such as Brett Eldredge, Lauren Daigle, Kevin Max, and Danny Gokey, and has performed or recorded with jazz luminaries such as Brian Blade, Danny Gottlieb, Keith Carlock, Dennis Chambers, and Jeff Coffin. She plays regularly with the Nashville Symphony and has also performed with the Kentucky Opera, Phoenix Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony. She has appeared on TV shows such as ABC/CMT’s Nashville, CBS’s Tell Me a Story, and the 2022 NBC Rockefeller Tree Lighting. Her music can be heard on Bravo, the History Channel, CBS NFL, Comedy Central, HGTV, and NBC.

Dean Berner is a musician, photographer, and educator. He lives in Nashville with partner Rachel Beauregard, their two daughters, and dog Sharkey. Berner is an in-demand session player and is currently touring with MCA Recording artist Catie Offerman. Over the last few years, he’s worked with Andrew Ripp, Mackenzie Porter, Maggie Rose, Lucie Silvas, Jana Kramer, Clare Dunn, Rick Brantley, Paul McDonald, and others. From 2003–2013, he was a member of country/bluegrass trio Edens Edge and toured with Brad Paisley, Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts, and Lady A. Also an avid photographer, Berner holds a master of fine arts in photography from the University of Hartford and teaches at Nashville State Community College. 

Gary Lunn is a Nashville native and has had more than 40 years of experiences as a session bassist, programmer, writer, and touring musician. He has done session work for artists like Michael W. Smith, Peter Cetera, Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, Tracy Lawrence, Johnny Cash, Sandy Patty, Amy Grant, Dolly Parton, and many more. He has also toured with Amy Grant and Dolly Parton.

Chris Leidhecker is a Nashville-based drummer and percussionist, currently recording and touring worldwide with Grammy Award–winning artist Michael W. Smith. Originally from Pennsylvania, he grew up in a family of musicians and began playing piano and drums as a toddler. He later earned a degree in music education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. 

Since moving to Nashville, Chris has performed with Rascal Flatts, Amy Grant, CeCe Winans, Charlie Daniels, Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys, Matt Maher, Wynonna, Ruston Kelly, Adam Doleac, and others. His compositions have been featured on MTV, ABC, CBS, Discovery, Bravo, and other major networks. In addition to touring and session work, Chris records live drums and percussion from his home studio and other studios across Nashville.