What to Know About the Dolly Parton Event Hitting Theaters Soon

Country music icon Dolly Parton announced Wednesday she will be celebrating the release of her first rock album with a two-day promotional event hitting movie theaters worldwide next month.

People who attend will "hear full songs from the new album for the first time ever and see footage you've never seen before," Parton said on Instagram in a caption accompanying the film's trailer.

Attendees will hear Parton speak in a new interview and watch her perform a holiday song, according to Trafalgar Releasing, which is presenting the film along with Butterfly Records. Parton will also perform her chart-topping 1980 hit "9 to 5" in the film.

Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton attends a press conference for her forthcoming album "Rockstar" at the Four Seasons Hotel in London on June 29. Parton has announced that a "Rockstar" first-listen two-day event will be hitting movie theaters... Mike Marsland/WireImage

About 1,000 theaters in 19 countries—including about 600 theaters in the U.S.—will host "Dolly Parton Rockstar: The Global First Listen Event" on November 15, Trafalgar told Newsweek. There will be "select encores" on November 16, leading directly to the release of Parton's Rockstar album on November 17, according to a website created for the event.

Parton said in a statement obtained by American Songwriter magazine that she is "excited" to present the fan event and "cannot wait" for people to hear the new songs. "I am so proud of this music, and I am humbled by all the wonderful artists who joined me," she said.

Parton announced release plans for Rockstar, her 49th solo album, earlier this year. The album is slated to include nine original songs and 21 covers of rock "anthems," according to a May 9 press release. Parton worked with several rock and pop stars for the album, including Sting, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Heart's Ann Wilson, Elton John, Miley Cyrus, P!nk and Lizzo.

Parton's fan event will be sandwiched between the release dates of concert films by two of contemporary music's biggest stars: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. While the screening dates for Parton's film are limited and will serve primarily to generate excitement for her album's release, the Swift and Beyoncé films focus on each singer's recent tour.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour set presale records ahead of its theatrical release this month, netting more than $100 million in global advance ticket sales. Swift attended the film's Los Angeles premiere in person and later posted photos on Instagram that showed her posing inside the theater with Beyoncé, whose attendance that night Swift compared to "an actual fairy tale."

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which is about her world tour in support of her 2022 album Renaissance, is expected to open December 1 in theaters in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

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Meghan Roos is a Newsweek reporter based in Southern California. Her focus is reporting on breaking news for Newsweek's Live ... Read more

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