Halos & Horns Tour

Parton had significantly reduced her touring schedule during the 1990s. By the end of that decade, however, she had begun a critically successful return to acoustic country and bluegrass music with The Grass Is Blue, followed by Little Sparrow and Halos & Horns.^[5]

Halos & Horns, released in July 2002, continued that roots-oriented direction while mixing Parton originals with interpretations of songs including Bread's "If" and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven".^[6]

Rather than performing primarily in arenas, Parton booked a number of comparatively intimate theaters and clubs during the American portion of the tour. The Washington Post, reviewing her performance at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club, described the tour as her first large-scale tour in a decade and noted that she was playing venues more commonly associated with younger rock acts.^[1]

The concerts largely avoided the elaborate staging associated with some of Parton's previous tours. The musical arrangements instead emphasized acoustic instrumentation and material from her three recent roots-oriented albums, while also incorporating earlier hits such as "Coat of Many Colors", "Jolene", "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You". Several of her pop hits, including "Islands in the Stream", "Here You Come Again" and "Two Doors Down", were performed as part of an a cappella medley.^[1]

The tour received positive reviews from several major publications. Reviewing the Washington, D.C. concert, David Segal of The Washington Post praised Parton's ability to move between country, bluegrass, gospel and pop, as well as the intimacy of the smaller venue.^[1]

The European leg also received favorable notices. Fiona Sturges of The Independent wrote that Parton's return to the United Kingdom followed a period of renewed critical attention prompted by her bluegrass-oriented albums, and described the Hammersmith Apollo audience as spanning country fans, younger pop listeners and gay fans.^[3] Carol McDaid of The Observer similarly praised Parton's vocals and storytelling during the London performance, highlighting performances of "Applejack", "Marry Me", "Halos and Horns", "Little Sparrow" and "I Will Always Love You".^[2]

The December 12 and 13 concerts at the Celebrity Theatre at Dollywood were recorded for a live release. The resulting album, Live and Well, was issued by Sugar Hill Records on September 14, 2004, together with a concert DVD.^[4]

The recording documents much of the tour's characteristic set, including material from The Grass Is Blue, Little Sparrow and Halos & Horns, alongside Parton's best-known songs. AllMusic described the recording as capturing Parton during a period of renewed artistic and commercial attention following her return to roots-oriented music.^[4]

The following set list is taken from the December 12–13, 2002 performances at Dollywood's Celebrity Theatre, which were recorded for Live and Well. It does not necessarily represent the set list performed at every show on the tour.^[4]

Notes

• "Color Me America", "Calm on the Water", "Try", "Down from Dover", "I Don't Wanna Throw Rice", "He's a Go Getter", and "I'll Oilwells Love You" were performed on select dates.

• Parton's Official Website