In between her two scheduled performances at the Ellis Theatre in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on Saturday (August 26), Dolly Parton was joined by Marty Stuart on guitar for a special unveiling of a mural. The vivid floral mural, located outside of the theater, was inspired by Parton’s song “Wildflowers,” which she performed with Stuart for the outdoor crowd.
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Braving the triple-digit temperature, the two performed Parton’s 1987 hit, which peaked at No. 6 on the country chart and appeared on Trio, her collaborative album with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt.
Proceeds from Parton’s two fundraising performances at the theater on Saturday will go to Stuart’s Congress of County Music, a museum and performing arts center housing the largest private collection of country music artifacts in the world.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dolly Parton to the Ellis Theater for two special shows,” said Stuart in a previous statement. “We are thankful that Dolly has so graciously donated her time to help raise money for the Congress of Country Music.”
[RELATED: 5 Songs You Didn’t Know Marty Stuart Wrote for Other Artists]
Parton and Stuart have performed together numerous times in recent years. In 2010, Parton performed several songs including her original 1970 Porter Wagoner duet, “Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man,” and her 1971 hit “Coat of Many Colors,” with Stuart and his band The Superlatives on season two of The Marty Stuart Show.
The two friends also made an appearance at CMA Fest in 2011 when Parton joined Stuart for his Late Night Jam at Ryman Auditorium. That year, the annual event benefitted MusicCares and Dolly’s Imagination Library Organization.
“When I saw the invite and it said ‘late night jam,’ I thought maybe I should wear my jammies,” said Parton of their previous performance together. “You know I”m usually in bed by 10:30.”
Stuart responded, “You are not in bed at this time. You are like me. You haven’t been to bed since 1972. This woman asked me the other day if we were married in the ’80’s. We weren’t, were we?”
Parton quipped, “No, we couldn’t have been. We’d have fought too much over the hairspray. I always thought we were soul mates though, and we do look cute together.”
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for ACM
