The country star said her conditions are treatable but she needs more time before performing.
LOS ANGELES — Dolly Parton canceled her planned Las Vegas residency Monday after telling fans that ongoing health treatment has left her unable to return to the stage at full strength.
The 80-year-old country music star said in a video message that she is improving, but not enough to perform a six-show run at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in September. The cancellation affects “Dolly: Live in Las Vegas,” a limited residency that had already been pushed back once because of health concerns. Parton said doctors have told her that her medical issues are treatable, and she stressed that the decision does not mean she is leaving show business.
Parton framed the update as both good news and bad news. “I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day,” she said in the video. She said the bad news was that recovery would take longer than she had hoped. Parton said some of the medications and treatments make her feel “swimmy-headed,” a phrase she said came from her grandmother. That feeling, she said, made the demands of a stage show too much for now, especially while carrying instruments and wearing high heels, heavy rhinestone outfits and her trademark big hair.
The residency had been scheduled for Sept. 17 through Sept. 26, 2026, after earlier December 2025 dates were postponed. Ticket listings for the Caesars Palace shows marked the performances as canceled. The shows were expected to be Parton’s first extended Las Vegas concert engagement in decades and a rare live run for an artist who has performed only occasionally in recent years. She last toured in 2016 with the “Pure & Simple” tour, though she has stayed active through music, television specials, books, business projects and appearances tied to Dollywood and other ventures.
Parton did not give a full medical diagnosis in the video, but she said kidney stones have been a long-running problem. She also said her immune system and digestive system had gotten “out of whack” over the past couple of years and that her doctors were working to rebuild and strengthen them. She used humor throughout the message, comparing herself to an old car that needed work under the hood. Still, she called internal medicine serious business and said her doctors have assured her that everything she is dealing with can be treated.
The announcement follows several months of public concern about Parton’s health. In September 2025, she said she had a kidney stone that caused an infection and kept her from traveling to a Dollywood event. Later that month, she postponed the original Las Vegas residency dates. In October, after her sister Freida Parton asked for prayers and fans grew worried online, Parton posted a video saying she was not dying and was still working. Monday’s update again aimed to quiet rumors while making clear that she is not yet ready for the physical pace of a concert run.
Parton also linked the past year to the death of her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025. She said the first year without him had been difficult, including holidays, their wedding anniversary and the date of his death. She thanked fans for flowers, cards and messages, saying the support had been part of her healing. Dean, who largely stayed out of public life during their long marriage, was often described by Parton as a steady private presence behind her very public career.
Even as she canceled the residency, Parton said she remains busy. She said she is recording, making videos, working on her Nashville museum and hotel and revising “Dolly: A True Original Musical,” a stage project expected to move toward Broadway. She also said she still visits Dollywood when she can. The message placed the Las Vegas cancellation in a broader pause from demanding live shows, not a full stop to her career. Parton said God had not told her to quit yet and that she believes she is being told to slow down.
The cancellation leaves no new Las Vegas concert dates on Parton’s schedule. Fans who bought tickets through major sellers were directed through normal refund systems, while Parton’s team pointed to her video statement as the main public explanation. Her next known projects remain centered on Nashville and the stage musical, while her return to live concerts depends on her recovery and doctors’ guidance.
Author note: Last updated May 4, 2026.