Dolly Parton posthumously accepts Americana award in new video

“I will always love you”— that’s what Dolly Parton said in a pre-recorded video after accepting the 2026 Americana Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Parton was posthumously awarded by Americana Music Association on Wednesday, weeks after her death following a brief battle with cancer. She was 80 years old.

According to “People,” during the ceremony honoring Parton and Robert Plant, the country superstar’s friend Emmylou Harris delivered opening remarks.

Harris spoke on Parton’s legacy, which was preceded with a video of the 10-time Grammy winner accepting the award.

Variety reported that, in the video, Parton said, “Well, hey, it’s Dolly, and I am so honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. I mean, roots music, or what is now called Americana music, is what I grew up playing back in the Smoky Mountains. It’s that same music that drew me back to East Tennessee back in 1997 to write and record my album ‘Hungry Again.’”

She continued, saying, “And that project really opened the door to a series of bluegrass and acoustic albums that changed the course of my career in so many ways. Now, new fans discovered these albums, new Americana music communities embraced them, and now, looking back at it all, I see this era of my career as a musical renaissance of sorts.”

Parton concluded by saying the award is an honor, telling fans, “I will always love you.”

The award had been in the works prior to Parton’s death, but the announcement of it being awarded to her was announced in September.

The ceremony concluded with a tribute performance by Brandi Carlile and the supergroup trio “I’m With Her.”