Dolly Parton’s storied career spans nearly six decades. Now, at age 76, Parton says she thinks her touring days are over, though fans may still be able to see the icon live.
In an interview with pollstar magazine Parton, published Thursday, said she plans to do “special shows” from time to time, but doesn’t think she’ll tour again.
“Maybe doing a long weekend of shows, or just a few shows at a festival,” she said. “But I don’t plan on going on a full tour anymore. I’ve been doing that all my life, and it takes so much time and energy.”
Months of planning go into creating a tour that fans haven’t seen yet, she told Pollstar: “So you can’t just do a few shows, you really have to commit to doing enough shows to do all that time and effort. make it pay off.”
Parton’s most recent tour was Pure and Simple in 2016. Her twelfth tour, she headlined 60 performances in the United States and Canada and the was marketed as her biggest tour ever across North America.
In the Pollstar interview, Parton said the decision stemmed from her concern for her 56-year-old husband, Carl Dean.
“I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband,” she said. “We’re getting older now and I don’t want to be gone four or five weeks in a row.”
She told the magazine that one of her fears is that something could happen when she’s on the road, so staying close to her Nashville home is paramount at this point in her life.
When it comes to her ardent fans, Parton credits the technology for keeping her so connected without touring.
“I never feel separated from my fans because in this high-tech world you can be right with them,” she said. “Special shows can be done in special ways. I will do something about that.”
Parton also said she is working on a rock and roll album and hopes some legends of the genre will sing with her.
“When I was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I thought, ‘Well, there’s no better time to do it,'” she told Pollstar. “My husband is a big hard rock and roll fan, and for years I thought, ‘One of these days I’d like to make an album, mainly just for him, just to kind of do it.’
She is scheduled to join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony on Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.
In addition to Parton, who initially tried to reject the nominationThis year’s inductees are Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon.