ENTERTAINMENT

Dolly Parton lines up Reba, Kenny Rogers, more for telethon

Cindy Watts
ciwatts@tennessean.com
Dolly Parton performs at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge as part of her "Pure & Simple" tour on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016.

Dolly Parton has enlisted famous friends including Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers and Alison Krauss to perform during her telethon “Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund,” set to air live 7 p.m. Tuesday on Great American Country.

The three-hour telethon will benefit the Dollywood Foundation My People Fund, which Parton helped establish to provide financial aid to those who lost their primary residence in the wildfires that devastated portions of her native Sevier County last week.

“My home in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee is some place special,” Parton said in a statement. “Wildfires have affected many of the people—my people—who live in those beautiful mountains. We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything in the fires. I know it has been a trying time for my people and this assistance will help get them back on their feet.”

The My People Fund will provide $1,000 monthly for six months to Sevier County families whose homes are uninhabitable or were destroyed by the wildfires. Renters and homeowners are eligible for the support and can apply at dollywoodfoundation.org.

Additional artists participating in the telethon will be announced in the coming days.

The USA Today Network, which includes The Tennessean, plans to livestream the telethon.