The country music icon, who died in August, originally recorded "Butterfly" for Brown's 2025 album Love & Fear
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Dolly Parton‘s voice filled Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, where a packed audience had gathered for a tribute concert to the country legend. During Zac Brown’s performance in honor of Parton, the singer performed “Butterfly.” The song, an inspirational ballad meant to guide Brown’s children through life, was featured as a duet with Parton on his 2025 album Love & Fear.
As Brown reprised the song during CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton event in Nashville, Parton’s prerecorded vocals joined him and the band as he sang the chorus: “Butterfly, you will see/You’re so much stronger than you think you are/You just have to believe.” The performance took place on a stage adorned with the winged creature, from a massive flower arrangement to butterflies overlooking the audience. Earlier in the night, Ella Langley offered her take on the 1974 hit “Jolene,” which the star first performed at her Auburn, Alabama, concert shortly after Parton’s death.
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It’s not the first time Brown has played the song live. Just a few days after Parton’s death in August, Brown and his eponymous band gave “Butterfly” its concert debut during a pair of shows at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. “I want to dedicate this song to Miss Dolly Parton. There will never be another human, there will never be another Dolly Parton,” Brown said then. “Getting to be friends with her and getting to make music with her and just be around her, the example she set as a human being: loving everyone. One of the most talented, funny, beautiful human beings I’ve ever met in my life.” Like at the Nashville tribute show, Brown sang “Butterfly” with Parton’s studio vocals.
Held at Nashville’s Belmont University, CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton was broadcast on ABC. It begins streaming on Hulu on Oct. 22 and features performances by Brown, Langley, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, and more. Proceeds from the event benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.