Kacey Musgraves to Honour Dolly Parton at 2026 VMAs
Kacey Musgraves will honour Dolly Parton with a tribute performance at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Sept. 27. Deadline reported the booking on Sept. 23.
Parton died on Aug. 25 after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80.
The tribute will be Musgraves' first performance at the VMAs, the annual awards show for music videos, in five years. She has three career VMA nominations and is nominated again this year for Best Country for "Dry Spell."
Snoop Dogg will host this year's ceremony. It will air from 7:30-9:30 PM ET on CBS, simulcast — shown live at the same time — on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ Premium in the U.S.
MTV announced on Sept. 17 that Lisa, RAYE, Sienna Spiro, Shaboozey, GENER8ION, Gunna and Yung Lean will also perform, according to People. Musgraves now joins that performance line-up for a separate memorial slot.
She has already honoured Parton on stage once since her death. At a concert in Boston, Musgraves performed "Here You Come Again," the 1977 Parton hit, as a tribute to the late singer, People reported.
For viewers, this means the country singer's return to the VMA stage will carry two roles. She is both a nominee and the artist chosen to lead the show's farewell to Parton.
