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Dolly Parton Is About to Get a Very Big Nashville Tribute

The country icon could soon have her name emblazoned across one of Tennessee’s busiest gateways.

Nashville is about to put Dolly Parton’s name somewhere very hard to miss. State and airport officials have begun laying the groundwork to rename its bustling airport after the beloved country singer, who died on Tuesday with cancer. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Nashville International Airport announced plans to rename the facility on Friday. A petition launched in 2025 calling for the airport to be named after Parton gained new momentum following her death, drawing roughly 150,000 signatures. “Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” Lee said in a statement. Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell noted on Instagram that Parton, 80, had been working with the city to develop a hotel and museum named Song Teller that she called her ‘love letter’ to Nashville. “Now it’s our turn to share a love letter to Dolly,” the mayor said.