DOLLY PARTON
TO RELEASE ‘BETTER DAY’
ALBUM OF ALL-NEW MATERIAL
AND LAUNCH WORLD TOUR THIS SUMMER
TO RELEASE ‘BETTER DAY’
ALBUM OF ALL-NEW MATERIAL
AND LAUNCH WORLD TOUR THIS SUMMER
DOLLY TO PREMIERE NEW SINGLE “TOGETHER YOU & I”
WHEN SHE PERFORMS IT LIVE ON “THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW”
THURSDAY, MAY 26
AS THE SONG SIMULTANEOUSLY ARRIVES AT RADIO
WHEN SHE PERFORMS IT LIVE ON “THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW”
THURSDAY, MAY 26
AS THE SONG SIMULTANEOUSLY ARRIVES AT RADIO
A BETTER DAY is coming. And who better than DOLLY PARTON to start spreading the news?
One of the most honored female country singers of all time returns this summer with a much-anticipated album of all-new studio material–BETTER DAY (Dolly Records)–and a world tour bringing her throughout America and then onto the U.K, Europe and Australia. The excitement gets underway when the iconic singer, songwriter, musician, actress and philanthropist unveils the album’s soaring first single “Together You & I” with a live performance Thursday, May 26 on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” as the song simultaneously arrives at radio. The song’s video will debut shortly thereafter.
“I wanted to do an album that would be very uplifting and positive, as well as inspirational,” says the seven-time Grammy winner who was hailed as “one of our national treasures” by Newsweek in 2008. “Times are hard all over. I think people need to feel better and I thought BETTER DAY was a perfect title because it says ‘hope.’” See a DOLLY Q&A below.
BETTER DAY is the follow-up to her critically acclaimed and successful Backwoods Barbie album in 2008. Featuring 12 original DOLLY compositions, the album will be released worldwide on her own Dolly Records in June or July (exact date TBA), marking the fourth release on the independent label.
The “BETTER DAY” world tour launches July 17 in Knoxville in her home state of Tennessee and will be highlighted by two shows (July 22 and 23) at the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Next, the tour moves overseas starting August 20 and will feature a pair of shows (September 7 and 8) at the O2 Arena in London, the venue where DOLLY recorded and filmed Live From London (Dolly Records), her widely praised 2009 two-disc DVD/CD set that included songs from Backwoods Barbie alongside her many classic hits.
Backwoods Barbie spun off three singles (“Better Get To Livin,’” “Jesus & Gravity” and “Shinola”) and was the first release on Dolly Records. Originally released in February 2008, the album entered the Top 200 Albums chart at #17 and at #2 on both the Country Album and Indie Album charts. This marked DOLLY’s highest album debut ever on the Billboard pop albums chart, and first entry into the Top 20 since 1993’s Slow Dancing With The Moon. Then, in 2009, a special Collector’s Edition of Backwoods Barbie (with three new songs) entered Billboard magazine’s Country Albums chart at #9, the Independent Albums Chart at #3 and the Top 200 Albums chart at #40.
In 2008, DOLLY achieved accolades for what was her most successful European tour of her 40-plus year career, where she performed 17 shows to over 170,000 fans, surpassing her then-best 2007 European tour, where she played 21 shows for over 140,000 people. Each of these treks grossed in the tens of millions of dollars and established DOLLY as Europe’s favorite and most successful country artist.
DOLLY Q&A:
–Can you describe what sets apart BETTER DAY from your recent albums?
“Well, I always think every album is better than the last one…at least I strive for that. I wrote all the songs for this one; plus, I think it may be a little more contemporary than what I usually do.”
–Since BETTER DAY will mark fourth release on Dolly Records, can you talk about the freedoms associated with making and releasing records on your own terms? (The label’s three previous releases were 2008’s Backwoods Barbie, 2009’s Original Broadway Cast Recording of 9 to 5: The Musical and Live From London.)
“It’s always best to be your own boss since you can do what you think is right. It’s also nice knowing what a nice person the boss really is and that you can pretty much get away with anything. (LOL!) Seriously, though, I’m proud Dolly Records has done so well.”
–With your return to the road in 2011 in North America, Europe and Australia, what can fans expect from your performances and stage show?
“I’m very excited, first of all, to be going back on tour at all. But I love the fans and I miss the live stage shows. With the new stage show I hope to have a lot of new things for the fans, especially all the new songs from the BETTER DAY CD and some new and different segments in the show with a lot more fun things as well. Of course, we will always be doing the biggest and most popular songs. We’re looking for a good time for ourselves as well as for the fans.”
Here’s the full BETTER DAY track listing:
In The Meantime
Just Leaving
Missing You
Together You & I
Country Is
Holding Everything
The Sacrifice
I Just Might
Better Day
Shine Like The Sun
Get Out
Let Love Grow
The initial North American and U.K./European dates are listed below, with the Australian dates to be announced shortly.
| Date | City, State | Venue |
| Sun 17 Jul | Knoxville, TN | University of Tennessee – Thompson Boling Arena |
| Tue 19 Jul | Dallas, TX | Verizon Theatre Grand Prairie |
| Wed 20 Jul | Albuquerque, NM | Sandia Casino |
| Fri 22 Jul | Los Angeles, CA | Hollywood Bowl |
| Sat 23 Jul | Los Angeles, CA | Hollywood Bowl |
| Sun 24 Jul | Concord, CA | Concord Pavilion |
| Wed 27 Jul | Prior Lake, MN | Mystic Lake Casino |
| Thu 28 Jul | Chicago, IL | Rosemont Theater |
| Sat 30 Jul | Wallingford, CT | Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre |
| Sun 31 Jul | Vienna, VA | Wolf Trap |
| Tue 02 Aug | Durham NC | Durham Performing Arts Center |
| Wed 03 Aug | Alpharetta, GA | Verizon Wireless Amphitheater @ Encore Park |
| Sat 20 Aug | Glasgow | Glasgow SECC |
| Sun 21 Aug | Glasgow | Glasgow SECC |
| Mon 22 Aug | Nottingham | Nottingham Arena |
| Thur 25 Aug | Copenhagen | Copenhagen Forum |
| Sat 27 Aug | Stockholm | Globe Arena |
| Sun 28 Aug | Göteborg, Sweden | Gothenburg Scandinavium |
| Wed 31 Aug | Liverpool | Echo Arena |
| Fri 2 Sept | Birmingham | LG Arena |
| Sat 3 Sept | Cardiff | CIA Arena |
| Sun 4 Sept | Cardiff | CIA Arena |
| Tue 6 Sept | Bournemouth | Bournemouth BIC |
| Wed 7 Sept | London | O2 Arena |
| Thur 8 Sept | London | O2 Arena |
| Sat 10 Sept | Newcastle | Metro Radio Arena |
| Sun 11 Sept | Manchester | Evening News Arena |
| Mon 12 Sept | Sheffield | Motorpoint Arena |
| Wed14 Sept | Dublin | 02 Arena |
| Thur 15 Sept | Belfast | Odyssey Arena |