Miley Cyrus Teared Up for Dolly Parton at the Hollywood Bowl, Then Sang 'Jolene'

Cyrus told the crowd the Bowl was the only place she ever saw her late godmother perform live.

Miley Cyrus sat on the edge of the Hollywood Bowl stage Friday night and cried for her godmother, Dolly Parton.

“I only got to see Dolly Parton live in concert one time in my entire life and it was here,” Cyrus told the crowd, Deadline reported. When she finished the story, she sang Parton's “Jolene.”

Parton had been in Cyrus's life since the day she was born, TheWrap reported. The bond started when she toured with Miley's father, Billy Ray Cyrus, as he pushed his 1992 hit “Achy Breaky Heart,” and it later put her on “Hannah Montana” as Aunt Dolly. Cancer took Parton quickly; she died Aug. 25.

The Bowl story was funny, too. Cyrus said she'd spent so many of Parton's shows backstage that her godmother would happily have put her onstage beside her in a matching costume. So for the Bowl show, she asked for one night out front, watching Parton like any other fan.

That plan didn't last. According to TheWrap, Parton told the audience Cyrus was there and sang “Best of Both Worlds,” the theme from the Disney Channel's “Hannah Montana.” Cyrus said the surprise “defeated the entire purpose” of keeping a low profile, TheWrap reported, and that she loved Parton for it anyway.

That night is part of why she picked the Bowl for her first full-length show in nearly four years, she said, one of two sold-out dates after her September album, “Bass Persuades.” She told the crowd she now feels Parton around her more than when she was alive.

“I'm going to see her again, and I can't f–king wait because I miss her,” she said, TheWrap reported.

The last time Cyrus sat in the Bowl's seats, Parton sang Cyrus's song at her from that stage. On Friday, Cyrus sang one of Parton's back.

Source: Deadline, retrieved October 17, 2026. Other sources: TheWrap.