After Dolly Parton’s death, fans are seeing signs of her all around them.
As Mae Estes performed at the Grand Ole Opry on Aug. 26 – the day after Parton’s death at 80 following a private cancer battle – a butterfly was spotted fluttering across the Nashville institution’s stage as the country singer-songwriter finished performing one of Parton’s most beloved songs.
“A yellow butterfly flew through the lights behind me on the stage for the end of that song,” Estes recounted in a video she posted on Instagram Aug. 27. “They all saw it and were losing their minds.”
“She’s inspired me to share my good, bad and ugly as a songwriter. I’m so proud of my story and who I am and where I come from, and this song right here is the one that first taught me one is only poor if they choose to be,” the singer told the crowd while introducing her rendition of “Coat of Many Colors.”
This moment was “proof that Dolly’s legacy lives on long after she’s gone,” according to the video posted on Estes’ YouTube channel.
Butterflies were synonymous with Parton, who told W Magazine in 2021 that “I used to get in trouble with my mom, ’cause they’d have to come find me and I’d be chasing a butterfly from one bush to another.”
The symbolism was incorporated into the Grand Ole Opry’s official tribute to the country icon and Opry member on Saturday, Aug. 29. The event brought out a lineup that saw Carly Pearce, Jelly Roll, Parton’s niece Jada Star, Molly Tuttle, Kathy Mattea, and other artists paying homage with performances of their own songs as well as hits from Parton’s catalog.
Before the Opry doors opened, fans formed a line wrapping around flower beds filled with butterflies, Parton’s longtime symbol.
Later, a large butterfly-shaped floral arrangement was revealed as the curtain opened, with Pearce launching into “Those Memories of You,” a track Parton recorded with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.
Videos of Parton’s Opry history played between performances, and at the end, Pearce invited the crowd to sing.
Jelly Roll made a surprise appearance just as the chorus of “9 to 5” kicked off, and the Opry House erupted in cheers.
The Opry pledged to donate a portion of the ticket sales to Parton’s Imagination Library book gifting program.
Contributing: Chris Parton, Nashville Tennessean