Across the decades of Dolly Parton’s storied career, she became known for her love of butterflies, incorporating their gentle and whimsical nature into song lyrics, logos, album covers, and merchandise. Her butterfly adoration was even on full display in what became her last public appearance, four days before her death on August 25, 2026. When Parton appeared virtually at an event to celebrate a new ride at her Dollywood theme park, she had human-size butterfly wings fluttering behind her back.
So it’s no wonder those who were at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry the night after Parton’s sudden death are still processing the magical moment they witnessed during a musical tribute to the country queen. During rising country star Mae Estes‘ tribute to Parton, a butterfly appeared out of nowhere and fluttered above the stage, illuminated briefly by the bright lights.
Estes has posted a video of the incredible moment, and others have corroborated her story, including beloved Opry announcer and WSM host Kelly Sutton, who appeared in Hallmark Channel’s 2025 movie “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas.” In a video shared to her Instagram Stories on August 27, Sutton said she was convinced the butterfly was a sign from Parton, insisting, “She was there.”
Watch the Butterfly Video From Mae Estes’ Dolly Parton Tribute: ‘It Wasn’t a Prop’
Estes, who’s been steadily gaining ground on the country music scene and made her Grand Ole Country debut in 2023, was already scheduled to perform at the historic venue when news broke of Parton’s shocking death, following a brief and private cancer battle.
Having met and long looked up to Parton, who was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, Estes decided to perform one of the the singer’s biggest and most poignant hits, “Coat of Many Colors,” during her set. With a photo of Parton illuminated on a screen above her, Estes sang the 1971 classic to the packed venue. As she did, she couldn’t help but notice the little winged wonder that joined her onstage.
In the video above that she posted after the show, she could be heard marveling to people backstage, “A yellow butterfy flew through the lights behind me, on the stage for the end of that song. They all saw (it).”
After people in the background called the moment “so crazy” and “amazing,” Estes said to someone else, “Have you ever seen a butterfly up there? Me either!”
Singer-songwriter Ward Davis, who also performed that night, wrote in a Facebook post, “Last night when Mae Estes sang ‘Coat of Many Colors,’ a big yellow butterfly flew across the Opry stage. It wasn’t a prop. There wasn’t a butterfly handler backstage. There was just God and Dolly and Mae Estes all getting together at the Grand Ole Opry. What a night.”
Kelly Sutton is Confident Dolly Parton Was Making Magic at the Grand Ole Opry
GettySutton, who has witnessed lots of magical moments in her years of hosting shows at the Grand Ole Opry, wrote in the comment section of Estes’ post, “I knew I wasn’t crazy. 🦋 Randy Hart and I both just froze when we saw it”
She went on to tell her fans about the incredible moment in a video she posted to her Instagram Stories on the morning of August 27.
“So, Mae was doing ‘Coat of Many Colors’ last night on the Opry stage — I’m standing on the side of the stage, and we’re watching her performance,” she recalled. “I cannot make this up. A butterfly or a moth, but I’m gonna go butterfly — if it was a moth, it was like a monster moth — flies down from the audience, flies dowh through the stage lights, over around to the side, the opposite side of the stage, and behind the scenes.”
Wide-eyed, Sutton continued, “Randy Hart, our keyboard player, he said, ‘Did you see that?’ And I said, ‘Yeah!’ I mean, like, inside the Grand Ole Opry!”
Convinced the butterfly was a sign of Parton’s presence, Sutton smiled, “She was there. She was there! I believe in all kinds of signs and I believe that she was there telling Mae she did a good job. I know she’s going to show up a lot more than that, too.”
Fans & Friends Are Also Sure Dolly Parton Sent the Butterfly to the Grand Ole Opry
GettyMany fans and friends responded to Estes’ video to let her know they believed the butterfly was a sign from Parton, including country star Emily Ann Roberts, who wrote, “MAE. That is literally Dolly passing the baton 😭🤍”
Fellow country singer Mallory Eagle agreed, writing, “Incredible!!! I just watched your video about this and tonight a monarch butterfly flew by me as well playing Jolene for some folks at a gig. She is with us💛🦋”
Another rising star, Brit Taylor, wrote, “Dude that’s Dolly sending a lil note to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 😭
There are many references to magical and mysterious moments that have have happened behind the scenes in “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas,” now available to stream via Hallmark+. The movie’s storyline even follows a former songwriter, played by Nikki DeLoach, who reconnects with the spirit of her dad, a longtime country star, through an inexplicable portal to the past up on the stage.
Kristoffer Polaha, DeLoach’s primary co-star, told Southern Living that while filming there, he could feel an otherworldly energy in the “sacred space,” explaining, “There’s these little hot spots spiritually all over the planet and I would argue that the Grand Ole Opry has a hotspot right there on the stage that has been forged through 100 years of music and that transcendence which happens when a performer does something special for an audience.”
Grand Ole Opry is planning a large tribute concert for Parton on Saturday, August 29, with a portion of ticket sales going to support her Imagination Library.
