Imagine that teenage girl being told she would someday help lead this celebration. Carly had grown up idolizing Dolly, finding encouragement in her example and believing that a little girl with a love of music might have a chance, too.
For Lady A, the chosen song reached back to the group’s own beginnings. “Islands in the Stream,” Dolly’s duet with Kenny Rogers, was among the first numbers they had sung together.
Bringing it to this stage connected their early days as a band with the woman they had gathered to remember. Lady A’s Hillary Scott said, “It just felt like so much love in the room, which is who she is.”
Lainey, who performed “Train, Train,” also spoke about feeling Dolly close. Her thoughts reached beyond the songs themselves to the woman whose kindness had made those songs feel even more special.
She said, “She’s here. She’s getting to see all of this and I hope she knows that her legacy is a lot more than just the music we’re singing on the stage.”
