The opening dates for Dolly Parton‘s Nashville hotel and museum are just around the corner. The SongTeller Hotel and the Life of Many Colors Museum will officially open on Sept. 29, bringing to fruition two major projects the country icon was working on before her death at 80 on Aug. 25.
The hotel will feature 245 guest rooms and suites, including the King rooms with expansive views of downtown Nashville and the Cumberland River, all with curated items chosen by the late Queen of Country, as well as the “Acoustic Suites,” which feature Parton’s acoustic guitars and personally curated album art and other instruments, a custom leather SongTeller journal and optional in-room songwriting sessions.
The “Six Sisters” suites, inspired by the singer’s strong bond with her five sisters, can host up to six guests and features a record player with Dolly’s albums, “nearly endless vanity space” and a large living room area with a curved couch. In addition, the hotel will feature the elaborate, two-story “SongTeller” Suite, as well as 9 to 5 Music Moments, which will fill the air in the Listening Lobby with one of Parton’s iconic songs at the top of every hour. Guests can also dip into the It’s All Writing Hour, a creative writing and journaling hour in the Listening Lobby that will provide guests with supplies to write their own hit song.
The hotel — created by Parton and entertainment company Herschend — will also feature a number of music venues, including Parton’s Live, with a full menu and bar and live music every night of the week, the Jolene’s lounge, which will host nightly performances from the city’s up-and-coming songwriters and singers and the SongTeller Cafe in the lobby.
The Life of Many Colors Museum, slated to open in October on the third floor of the SongTeller Hotel, will be the “largest exhibit celebrating [Parton’s] life in the world to date, spanning every dynamic decade from the top of the mountains to the top of the world,” according to the hotel’s website. It promises to employ state-of-the-art technology used to film Parton earlier this year to allow the “Jolene” singer to narrate her life in music and movies, family and faith, “combined in a kaleidoscope of dreams, hopes, and, of course, dazzling style. Her mosaic of memories, as songwriter, actress, musician, philanthropist, the Smoky Mountain Songbird and global icon, create the gritty and glittery backdrop for her story to unfold.”
The Museum will also host an Imagination Library zone paying homage to the singer’s iconic book-giving program that has distributed more than 300 million books to children worldwide to date, as well as a Hall of Fame, a Life on the Road display, Dolly’s Writing Room, celebrating her songwriting skills, Dolly’s Wardrobe, containing some of her most dazzling costumes over seven decades of public life and a recreation of the small cabin Parton grew up in.
Parton posted a promo video for the museum on Instagram just weeks before her death.
“From rags to rhinestones. I’ve been blessed with a life full of stories and now I finally get to share them all with you in one place, my Life of Many Colors museum,” she said in the clip in which she wore a glittery golden dress. “It’s the biggest exhibit of yours truly that the world has ever seen.”
Guest reservations for the hotel will open up on Sept. 14 and tickets for the museum will be available starting on Sept. 20; click here for information on both.
Parton’s cousin, singer Richie Owens, will take the stage at Parton’s Live on Sept. 16 and her niece, Jada Star, will begin an artist residency at the hotel starting Sept. 17. The hotel has partnered with Leslie Fram’s FEMcountry to present monthly showcases for established female artists and songwriters at Parton’s Live.
