Maren Morris has no chill after performing with Dolly Parton at Newport Folk Festival
An audience of lucky listeners witnessed a one-of-a-kind musical collaboration by country music icon Dolly Parton at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island on Saturday.
Parton emerged onstage wearing a head-to-toe, glowing canary yellow suit — no spotlight needed — to perform a memorable ensemble with top female artists during a set mysteriously dubbed "The Collaboration."
She was joined with artists including Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Lucy Dacus, Jade Bird.
Parton sang a number of her classics, including "Jolene," "Eagle When She Flies" and "I Will Always Love You," ending with the ultimate working woman's anthem, "9 to 5," according to Pitchfork.
Parton seemed pleased with her impromptu appearance when she posted on her Instagram account:
“I just love surprises. You should have seen the look on your faces. Thanks for having me @brandicarlile #NewportFolkFestival”
A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton) on Jul 27, 2019 at 5:21pm PDT
Among the fans melting down were the women onstage. They couldn't contain their enthusiasm on social media after the show.
Morris took her feelings to Twitter: "brb crying on the inside till the end of time."
brb crying on the inside till the end of time. 😭✨ pic.twitter.com/1pP2BKAhLm
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) July 28, 2019
Dolly Parton to me: Congratulations on your number one song! Me: 💀 pic.twitter.com/tVC4HuMu2K
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) July 28, 2019
Bird, an English singer and songwriter, said Carlile was cut from the same cloth as Parton and thanked Carlile for including her in the performance.
"I just sang on stage with Dolly Parton and now I’m going to die," Bird said on Twitter.
Speechless. Dolly Parton. @newportfolkfest 🌼 @brandicarlile is a force, a lightning bolt from the same magical sky as Dolly ⚡️ and I cannot thankyou enough for having me on that stage with such powerful women. pic.twitter.com/ZIIIuhPsmN
— Jade Bird (@JadeBirdMusic) July 28, 2019
Crow called the collaboration a "dream" in an Instagram post.
"So honored to be included in @thehighwomen super love club. This weekend at @newportfolkfest was a dream of female collaborations. So lucky to be a part of this festival! ❤️"
A post shared by Sheryl Crow (@sherylcrow) on Jul 28, 2019 at 1:47pm PDT
The Newport Folk Fest's post on Instagram also summed up Parton's appearance.
"Our eagle has landed! What an immense honor to have @DollyParton join our day 2 finale!"
A post shared by Newport Folk Fest (@newportfolkfest) on Jul 27, 2019 at 5:17pm PDT
The Highwomen, which includes members Carlile, Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby and has been called country music’s next supergroup, also joined Parton for a memorable a cappella moment, not onstage but in a narrow hallway between performances.
Parton and the women sang Parton's emotional hit “Eagle When She Flies.”
“She’s a sparrow when she’s broken/ But she’s an eagle when she flies.”
A post on Instagram by Linda Perry, a music producer and songwriter, shows Parton and the Highwomen singing the melodic classic.
A very rare moment with Dolly, Maren Brandi Carlile and the High Women
A post shared by Linda Perry (@reallindaperry) on Jul 27, 2019 at 9:03pm PDT
The group's debut album — "The Highwomen" — will be released Sept. 6 with 12 of its tracks written by its members along with various contributors, including Miranda Lambert, Jason Isbell, Jimmy Webb, Lori McKenna and Ray LaMontagne.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dolly Parton performs with Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris at Newport
