The late Dolly Parton’s brand-new SongTeller Hotel officially opens in downtown Nashville today, September 29.
And inside the building is something even more interesting.
Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum. Dolly Parton
The museum occupies more than 20,000 square feet on the hotel’s third floor.
That’s a lot of rhinestones.
The collection follows Dolly’s story from her childhood in East Tennessee all the way through a six-decade career that eventually turned her into one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world. AFAR Media
And this isn’t simply a room with some old album covers hanging on the wall.
The museum includes stage costumes.
Awards.
Personal artifacts.
Multimedia exhibits.
Re-creations of Dolly’s writing room.
And even a replica of her customized tour bus. AFAR Media
Perhaps the coolest detail:
Dolly recorded material earlier this year that is incorporated into the museum experience.
So visitors will actually hear Dolly herself helping tell the story. https://www.wsmv.com
That feels particularly meaningful now.
Dolly died August 25 at age 80, just a little more than a month before the project she had been working on was scheduled to open. https://www.wsmv.com
Her team decided to keep going.
And today the doors officially open.
The hotel itself has 245 rooms and suites and sits at 126 Third Avenue North in downtown Nashville. https://www.wsmv.com
But because this is Dolly Parton we’re talking about, apparently simply building bedrooms wasn’t enough.
There are two live-music venues inside.
The top-floor venue is called Jolene’s and will feature Nashville singers and songwriters performing nightly.
Another space, Parton’s Live, is designed for writers’ rounds, songwriter sessions and showcases featuring emerging artists. https://www.wsmv.com
That part is especially cool.
Instead of creating a place that exists entirely to look backward at Dolly’s career, the hotel will also give stages to people trying to build careers right now.
That’s very Nashville.
And honestly, very Dolly.
There are themed suites too.
One is the Six Sisters Suite, inspired by Dolly and her five sisters, designed to accommodate groups of up to six people. AFAR Media
Expect pink.
A lot of pink.
Standard rooms begin around $358 per night, while museum admission starts around $32. AFAR Media
But you don’t necessarily need to stay overnight to make the museum part of a Nashville trip.
And that’s probably what makes this interesting for country fans.
Nashville already has the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The Ryman.
The Grand Ole Opry.
Studio B.
The Johnny Cash Museum.
Broadway.
Now there’s another stop to add to the list.
And unlike a memorial somebody decided to build after Dolly died, this was something Dolly herself helped create.
She knew what it was going to be.
She worked on it.
She recorded material for it.
She planned for people to walk through those doors.
Rebecca Seaver, Dolly’s niece and executive director of the museum and Dolly Parton Archives, says the collection represents the largest presentation of Dolly’s life story the family has ever displayed. AFAR Media
That’s significant.
Because Dolly Parton’s story has been told a lot.
But now there’s a permanent place in downtown Nashville devoted to telling it in her own city.
The doors open today.
And we’d imagine they’re going to be pretty busy.
Dolly Parton’s official SongTeller Hotel and museum announcement
