Zac Brown Opens Up About Working With Dolly Parton On ‘Butterfly’: ‘There’ll Never Be Another Dolly’

Zac Brown doesn’t hold back when it comes to sharing his love and admiration for Dolly Parton. After having the rare honor of collaborating with her on his moving new anthem, “Butterfly,” from his upcoming album Love & Fear, Brown says his respect for Parton as both an artist and a person has only deepened.

“There’ll never be another Dolly,” he said of the country legend before praising her as “the most published, most brilliant female writer ever.”

This collaboration, Brown admits, was a “dream.” Not only did he get to work with such an icon in the genre, but he also got to fulfill a longtime goal of recording with a full orchestra. Having such a large group of talented musicians alongside Parton’s signature vocals made an already special song that much more fulfilling.

“She’s an angel man, but what she’s sang on this, I sent her the song and was like, ‘sing whatever you want’. And when I got back what she sang, I was just like, she’s a fu**ing ninja dude. She’s a ninja,” he told Taylor Lewan and Will Compton during an episode of Bussin’ With The Boys.

Why “Butterfly” Is So Special

Co-written by Brown with Dan Auerbach and Sasha Sirota, “Butterfly,” offers a powerful statement centered around resilience, self-discovery, and personal growth. from struggle and hardship to empowerment and freedom, offering a reminder that listeners are stronger than they realize and can overcome any challenge that comes their way. For Brown, the song carries an extra layer of weight as it was he written as a letter to his children.

“It’s the first song I wrote on the piano because I can play piano, but I don’t really write on it. So I sat down and tried to write a song and that’s what came out, a song for my kids,” Brown explained. “But having Dolly the legend absolutely murder it, when you listen to what she sang on that and how she sang it, you wouldn’t know she was 25 or 80. It’s unbelievable. That one is one right now that I’m so crazy proud of and I just love her and everything she stands for. She’s done so much in philanthropy as well with her career. Just an incredible woman…She’s about to be 80 years old and she’s hot and she’s still as talented as any human on the earth.”

This marks one of three epic collabs that are set to appear on Zac Brown Band’s next album. He also worked alongside Marcus King for the unreleased track “Hard Run,” and Snoop Dogg on “Let It Run.”

Brown Shares His Pride For Love & Fear Album

Between these collaborations, the remaining songs on the 13-track album and his upcoming run at the Las Vegas Sphere, Brown has entered what might be the most personally fulfilling chapter of his career.

“I’ve bled over this album and these recordings and all of the press and all the content for the Sphere and all the things, so I’m super proud of it. I’m proud of this as any record I’ve ever made,” Brown admits. “Spent a lot of time writing it, a lot of time producing it and arranging it with my band and I love it. Every three years you get a snapshot of the best songs that I’ve written in that amount of time. But having Snoop on a song, having Dolly on a song, and then I wrote with Dave Grohl on one of the tunes. I love it. Those are my babies, man. The songs are like your babies.”

Brown reveals that putting together the best possible Sphere experience while also crafting this album has been both a huge honor and a “massive undertaking.” All of the hard work he’s done this year is leading up to the first night in the immersive venue. While he admits it’s not a “big money-making opportunity,” the exposure, the artistry, and the chance to connect with their community in the new way is what makes it all worth it.

“The Sphere show in December is the biggest project we’ve ever taken on by tenfold, and it’s important to do something that’s unforgettable there to just remind people, I want to be in that same legacy era or legacy act as the Rolling Stones or the Grateful Dead. And what that requires is your community that you create around your music and your following and all those things. You have to do something to keep them engaged, to keep them going. And artistically, this is the greatest canvas that’s ever been created for creativity,” he explained.

The run is set to kick off on December 5, the same day the band’s new album Love & Fear is scheduled to arrive.