Kacey Musgraves changed the middle of her Boston concert to make room for Dolly Parton, pairing one of her own most hopeful songs with a Parton classic three days after the country legend’s death.
During her Aug. 28 show at TD Garden, Musgraves brought “Rainbow” into the set and dedicated it to Parton before immediately performing the 1977 hit “Here You Come Again.” Entertainment Weekly reported that the crowd joined Musgraves during the Parton cover as the tribute unfolded.
Parton died Aug. 25 at 80 after what her representatives described as a brief battle with cancer. Musgraves reacted that day by writing that the world felt “a lot less sparkly” and saying the loss “really really hurts.”
The Boston performance turned that grief into a two-song tribute with its own history. “Rainbow” carried Musgraves’ message for Parton, while “Here You Come Again” was a song she had been performing for more than a decade, including once alongside Parton herself.
Musgraves Brought ‘Rainbow’ Back for Parton
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Before beginning “Rainbow,” Musgraves spoke to the TD Garden crowd about Parton’s influence beyond records, awards and celebrity. She focused instead on the generosity and compassion that had made the singer important to people far outside country music.
Musgraves praised Parton as someone who consistently looked out for people who were overlooked or treated as outsiders, even when doing so offered no obvious career advantage. “Let’s all sing this together for her memory,” she told the crowd, according to Rolling Stone.
She then performed “Rainbow,” the closing track from her 2018 album Golden Hour, as photographs of Parton appeared on the screens around the stage. The song had not been part of the standard opening set for the Middle of Nowhere Tour, making its Boston appearance specific to the tribute.
Musgraves followed it directly with “Here You Come Again.” The crowd joined her on the Parton hit, turning the transition from her own song into one of the night’s largest sing-alongs. Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, “Here You Come Again” became one of Parton’s defining crossover hits after its 1977 release. It topped Billboard’s country chart and reached No. 3 on the Hot 100.
‘Here You Come Again’ Already Had a Long History for Musgraves
Musgraves has been singing “Here You Come Again” publicly for more than a decade, including a 2014 performance with Katy Perry on CMT Crossroads. Five years later, the song became part of Musgraves’ tribute to Parton during Grammy week. Musgraves and Perry were among the artists who performed at the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year celebration honoring Parton’s music and philanthropy.
The connection became even more direct two nights later at the 61st Grammy Awards. Musgraves and Perry opened the televised Parton tribute with “Here You Come Again” with Parton herself joining them onstage before the medley continued with Miley Cyrus, Maren Morris and Little Big Town.
Musgraves Had Long Called Parton More Than a Musical Influence
Musgraves’ tribute also reflected admiration she had expressed long before Parton’s death. In 2019, she called Parton the “ultimate songwriter” while praising the combination of songwriting, humor, business instincts, femininity and fearlessness that allowed her to build a career without sanding down the qualities that made her distinctive.
She also singled out Parton’s support for LGBTQ+ people and her kindness toward others. In a later interview cited by PEOPLE, Musgraves again praised Parton as both a style and business icon and summed up her place in country music simply: “There will never be another Dolly.”
That admiration shaped Musgraves’ first public reaction when Parton’s death was announced. “Dolly. 💔 This really really hurts,” she wrote, adding that “the world feels a lot less sparkly all of a sudden.” Musgraves also referenced Parton’s late husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 after nearly six decades of marriage. “So glad she’s with her Carl Dean,” she wrote.