Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday, Aug. 25, handled a failing soundcheck at Dollywood in 2018 by privately asking the front-of-house engineer to step aside, according to an account from the booking agent for Orleans.
The incident occurred during soundcheck for the 2018 Dollywood pre-season media day at Parton’s theater in her east Tennessee amusement park. Orleans, known for the hits “Dance With Me” and “Still the One,” was booked to back Parton on “Still the One” and Cat Stevens’ “Peace Train.” Parton particularly liked “Still the One” and wanted to perform it and “Peace Train” with Orleans as her backing band, the agent said. Parton flew the band in and paid them well.
As Parton and the band ran through soundcheck, the front-end audio was muddy and the monitor mix was awful. The agent, who has represented national touring acts for 35 years, said he has seen many reactions to a bad mix, from passive-aggressive stage comments to public humiliation of house technicians.
A private fix at the soundboard
Parton tried to work through the problems diplomatically, the agent said. When the mix did not improve, she left the stage and walked to the front-of-house soundboard. The agent, who was standing near the board, heard her speak quietly to the technician.
“Honey, you are a beautiful young man, but this isn’t really working for me, so can I let Orleans’ sound man do the mix?”
She stepped back and nodded to the new engineer to take over. Within a minute or two, the sound was immaculate. The agent said Parton made sure no one else in the room heard the critique except the technician, protecting his dignity while fixing the performance.
Reputation and production
The agent said that how an artist treats staff and crew can create defensiveness, disrupt production momentum, and influence an artist’s longevity. He said raw talent may get an act booked, but word travels fast across venue crews, production managers, talent buyers and agents.
Approaching technical issues with quiet authority yields faster results, preserves relationships, and builds a lasting reputation, he said. He added that an artist’s reputation depends as much on handling a bad soundcheck as on hitting high notes, that headliners address problems professionally and privately, and that grace under pressure produces a better show than a public meltdown.
