Orville Peck offered a tribute to the late Dolly Parton with a heartfelt cover of her song “I Will Always Love You” at Rough Trade East in London on Tuesday.
Prior to performing, Peck spoke to the audience about Parton’s impact on him. “I’m a little bit of a mess right now,” he said, “She really stood for kindness and I think that’s something that is really lacking in the world these days… I feel we can always remember what she stood for.” He continued, saying that while he doesn’t put much weight on the idea of a “hero,” Dolly was his. “I think as a gay man coming into country music and feeling sort of alone, the thing that always felt comforting is, like, just knowing Dolly existed in country… made me feel like maybe I had a friend there.”
He then introduced the cover with a dedication: “We love Dolly and this is for her.” With just an acoustic guitar and a microphone, Peck provided a solemn but gripping rendition of the country classic. He stayed faithful to Parton’s original — which was famously covered by Whitney Houston — but employed his rich baritone in taking the song down the octave. Even with his signature mask on, Peck was clearly overcome with emotion, especially in the third and final verse. Watch his cover of “I Will Always Love You” below.
It’s not his first time giving a rendition of the Parton staple; Peck previously covered “I Will Always Love You” back in 2020. Peck is gearing up to release his new album, Mule, on September 18th. He’ll support the record with a 2026 North American tour. Get tickets to see Orville Peck here. For more tributes to Dolly and her legacy, see our roundup here.
