Kacey Musgraves to Lead Dolly Parton Tribute at 2026 VMAs

Kacey Musgraves will pay tribute to Dolly Parton at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, CBS and MTV announced Wednesday. The performance, set for Sept. 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, will be Musgraves' first on the VMAs stage in five years, since she sang "Star-Crossed" at the 2021 ceremony.

Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80. Musgraves, who had long considered the country icon a friend and mentor, posted a series of messages on X after her death. "The world feels a lot less sparkly all of a sudden," she wrote. "Dolly. This really really hurts." She added, "So glad she's with her Carl Dean," referring to Parton's late husband, who died in March 2025.

Musgraves has already honored Parton onstage during her current Middle of Nowhere tour. At her Aug. 28 concert in Boston, she dedicated her own song "Rainbow" and a cover of Parton's "Here You Come Again" to the singer. At Madison Square Garden, she told the crowd, "I'm not over it, and I'm never gonna be over it. The world definitely lost a light, and it's hard for me to talk about. And I know how much Dolly meant to everybody also in this room. I think why it feels so dark is it's already hard to navigate these times right now, and then we lose a matriarch like that. It's the closest thing we've ever had to royalty."

The two artists shared the stage several times over the years. Musgraves performed "Here You Come Again" as part of a tribute to Parton at the 2016 CMA Awards, when Parton received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. She also sang the same song alongside Parton during a medley at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

Musgraves is nominated this year for Best Country for her single "Dry Spell." She has won three VMAs overall during her career.

The 2026 VMAs will also feature a tribute to George Michael by Raye, Sombr, and Teddy Swims. Nirvana will receive the Video Vanguard Award, and Taylor Swift will receive the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors. Snoop Dogg is hosting, and Madonna will open the show with her first VMAs performance in 20 years. Other performers include Gunna, Lisa, Shaboozey, Gener8ion, Sienna Spiro, and Yung Lean.

The ceremony airs Sept. 27 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS and MTV, and streams on Paramount+ (Premium) in the U.S. It will be available globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV.