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Dolly Parton has contributed a major financial gift described as “transformational” to a children’s hospital.
Earlier this year, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital was officially renamed the Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital after the country music icon made a significant donation to the institution.
The hospital’s president and CEO Matt Schaefer has now spoken publicly about the impact of her contribution. Speaking with Chief Healthcare Executive, he explained: “What I can tell you is that she has made a generational and transformational commitment to Children’s and its mission.”
“That commitment is something that goes beyond our wildest expectations, that is beyond generous, and will be a lifeline for this mission for now and for years to come,” he continued. “And we’re excited about and humbled by her willingness to do so.”
Although Schaefer did not reveal the exact figure of Parton’s gift, he explained that her support places both the hospital and the surrounding community in a very strong and promising position.
The donation is expected to support several key areas, helping both young patients receiving care and the medical professionals responsible for their treatment.
In related news, Parton stepped back into the public spotlight last month for the first time in 2026 and gave fans an update on her wellbeing. This followed speculation about her health that began after comments from her sister last October.
After those concerns surfaced, Parton addressed the situation herself, explaining that she had experienced several “health challenges” that ultimately led her to cancel her planned Las Vegas residency.
“I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on,” she shared, referring to the passing of her husband Carl Dean, whom she was married to for 58 years before he died last March.
“I just got myself kind of where I needed to build myself back up spiritually, emotionally, and physically. But, all is good. It didn’t slow me down.”
Following Dean’s death, the country legend previously shared that she had paused work on new music while processing her loss, although she has since returned to creative work.
She added: “I’ve just been doing a lot of writing, a lot of thinking, a lot of praying and a lot of getting ready for a lot of new stuff coming up for the rest of this whole year. So, be ready for me. I ain’t done, I ain’t near done.”
In the period after his passing, Parton also said she was “doing better than I thought I would” and later released the emotional song “If You Hadn’t Been There” as a tribute to him. She explained that the track reflects how important he was in her life and how he helped shape who she became.
She also celebrated her 80th birthday by releasing a refreshed version of her 1977 song “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning” in January. The new recording featured Queen Latifah, Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus as part of a celebration marking 50 years of the song.
U2 singer Bono also arranged a special surprise by sending a bagpiper to perform for her birthday. More recently, Parton also appeared in a pre recorded video tribute celebrating Ozzy Osbourne receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at last month’s BRIT Awards.
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Aerosmith played their first live shows in three years, with Dave Grohl on the drums and special appearances from Johnny Depp, Guns N’ Roses, Liv Tyler and more.
The two shows were billed as ‘California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends’ and took place at the Hollywood Bowl in California on October 29 and November 1. They were the rock giants’ first live shows in three years, following Aerosmith abruptly bringing their touring days to an end when frontman Steven Tyler injured his larynx.
Before they took to the stage to close out the first night, there were performances from Eric Church, Heart, Billy Idol, Sammy Hagar, and Godsmack’s Sully Erna, and backing musicians included Nuno Bettencourt.
The Black Crowes also performed a brief set – breaking out covers of four Aerosmith songs – as did Guns N’ Roses, who were direct support for Tyler and co and performed covers of ‘Nobody’s Fault’, ‘Last Child’, and ‘Seasons of Wither’.
Aerosmith were then introduced to the stage by the frontman’s daughter Liv Tyler and fellow actor Alicia Silverstone, who both featured in the band’s ‘Crazy’ music video back in 1994. They played a six-song set featuring their biggest hits ‘Toys in the Attic’, ‘Back in the Saddle’, ‘Sweet Emotion’, ‘The Train Kept A-Rollin’, and ‘Dream On’, and were joined by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl on drums for the majority of the set.
Johnny Depp came out as a surprise guest and played guitar on ‘The Train Kept A-Rollin’, and original drummer Joey Kramer came out for the final song, joining his bandmates as they closed the night out with ‘Walk This Way’.
On night two, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale came together to cover two Aerosmith tracks, ‘Kings And Queens’ and ‘Round And Round’, while Alice In Chains’ Jerry Cantrell and Mike Inez joined up with Richie Kotzen for covers of ‘Draw The Line’ and ‘Nobody’s Fault’.
Other performers opening for Aerosmith included Billy Idol again, Train’s Pat Monahan, Grace Potter and Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson. The Black Crowes and Guns N’ Roses returned to play brief sets, and Aerosmith played a similar set to the show prior, but also broke out a cover of The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’.
Johnny Depp and Dave Grohl didn’t take part in that show, and the drummer for that show was their recent touring drummer, John Douglas.
MC for both nights was comedian and actor Bill Burr, who told the audience at the first gig that they would be the band’s “final two shows in Aerosmith’s history”.
At the second night, however, Tyler seemed to refute the comments and said: “So Bill Burr said these are our final shows, huh? Doesn’t he know that you can’t get rid of Aerosmith? In fact, at the end of the fucking world, there will only be cockroaches, Aerosmith, and, I guess, Bill Burr.”
Check out more footage from the two shows below.
While Aerosmith have rarely played live since bringing their touring days to an end, Tyler has made a few live appearances in the time since – including a brief performance at the final Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath show ‘Back To The Beginning’ in 2025.
He also joined forces with Yungblud for the collaborative EP ‘One More Time’, made an on-stage appearance with him and Joe Perry at the 2025 MTV VMAs as part of a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, and also dropped both a country remix of the EP with Lainey Wilson, as well as a ‘Desert Road Version’ with actor Steve Martin.
As for Grohl, the Foo Fighters star recently appeared alongside Jack Black, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen and more at Tom Morello’s inaugural his Power To The People festival, played a rare opening slot for AC/DC – also joining them on stage for their headline set – and also opened up about how he first met late drummer Taylor Hawkins.
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