The Better Day World Tour was the tenth

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by American recording artist,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. Visiting North America, Europe and Australia, the tour supported her 41st studio album, '' Better Day''. With nearly 275,000 tickets sold, and an overall gross of $34 million, it is Parton's most successful tour. The tour was her first visit to Australia in 30 years.

Background

In January 2011, Parton told media outlet she planned to release an album in 2011 and a supporting tour. A month later,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer maga ...

''Glasswerk'' announced the tour to visit

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, England and Ireland. In March, the tour was expanded to include dates in the United States. Parton explained the tour would be a joyful celebration full of hope and inspires to look towards better days. To introduce the tour, Parton remarks:

"I’m very excited, first of all, to be going back on tour at all. But I love the fans and I miss the live stage shows. With the new stage show I hope to have a lot of new things for the fans, especially all the new songs from the ''Better Day'' CD and some new and different segments in the show with a lot more fun things as well."

The tour began on July 17, 2011, at the

Thompson–Boling Arena Thompson–Boling Arena is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The arena opened in 1987. It is home to the Tennessee Volunteers (men) and Lady Vols (women) basketball teams. Since 2008, it h ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

. The inaugural concert benefited Parton's

Dollywood Foundation The Dollywood Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Dolly Parton, with headquarters in Sevierville, Tennessee (as of 2022). Shortly after the opening of the Dollywood theme park in 1986, the Dollywood Foundation was created in April 1 ...

. All proceeds from the concert were donated to the Imagination Library, providing educational opportunities to children in various communities.

Broadcasts & Recordings

Footage was recorded on 22–23 November 2011 at

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. History Replacing ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia for a live DVD. The release date has not been announced although Liquid Crystal Productions has stated it will be released in 2013.

Set list

This set list is representative of the show in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is not representative of all concerts for the duration of the tour #" Walking on Sunshine" (contains excerpts from "Shine Like the Sun") #" Better Get to Livin'" #" Jolene" #"

Rocky Top "Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year. The song, which is a city dweller's lamentation over the loss of a simpler a ...

" #"

Mule Skinner Blues "Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" (a.k.a. "Muleskinner Blues", and "Muleskinner's Blues") is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, a ...

" #"

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

" #" Shine" #" Stairway to Heaven" #" My Tennessee Mountain Home" #" Precious Memories" #" Coat of Many Colors" #" Smoky Mountain Memories" #"

Son of a Preacher Man "Son of a Preacher Man" is a song written and composed by American songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield in September 1968 for the album ''Dusty in Memphis.'' Springfield's version was produ ...

" #"Better Day" #" Together You and I" #"Holding Everything" #"Joyful Noise" #"He Will Take You Higher" (contains excerpts from "

I Want to Take You Higher "I Want to Take You Higher" is a song by the soul/ rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their Top 30 hit "Stand!". Unlike most of the other tracks on the ''Stand!'' album, "I Want to Take You Higher" is not a message song; inst ...

") #"He's Everything" #"

White Limozeen ''White Limozeen'' is the twenty-ninth solo studio album by American entertainer Dolly Parton. It was released on May 30, 1989, by Columbia Records. The album returned the performer to the country music fold, after the critical and commercial fa ...

" #" The Best of Both Worlds" #"The Sacrifice" #"In the Meantime" #"

Little Sparrow ''Little Sparrow'' is the thirty-eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on January 23, 2001, by Sugar Hill and Blue Eye Records. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album and ...

" #"

River Deep – Mountain High "River Deep – Mountain High" is a song by Ike & Tina Turner released as the title track to their 1966 studio album on Philles Records. Produced by Phil Spector and written by Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. ''Rolling Stone'' ranke ...

" #"

Here You Come Again ''Here You Come Again'' is the nineteenth solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on October 3, 1977, by RCA Victor. It was Parton's first album to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping a mil ...

#" Islands in the Stream" #" 9 to 5" ;Encore #

" I Will Always Love You"

Light of a Clear Blue Morning "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" is a song written and recorded by American entertainer Dolly Parton. The song first appeared on her 1977 '' New Harvest...First Gathering'' album, and provided a top twenty country music hit for her as a single. As ...

" Source:

Tour dates

Box office score data

References

External links

Parton's Official Website
{{Dolly Parton Dolly Parton concert tours 2011 concert tours