The Queen of Country Music is coming to town with her 'Better Day' World Tour. Her tour dates span 8 November-1 December 2011. Current concert dates are:

• Nov 08 Perth, Burswood
• Nov 12 Adelaide, Entertainment Centre
• Nov 15 Sydney, Acer Arena
• Nov 19 Hunter Valley, NSW Hope Estate
• Nov 20 Hunter Valley, NSW Hope Estate
• Nov 22 Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
• Nov 23 Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
• Nov 25 Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
• Nov 26 Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
• Nov 27 Brisbane, Entertainment Centre
• Nov 29 Sydney, Acer Arena
• Dec 01 Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena

Dolly Parton, the acknowledged Queen of Country Music, was born on January 19, 1946 in Sevierville, Tennessee into what she called, in her own words, a “dirt poor” family. She was the daughter of a tobacco farmer, and they lived in a rustic, dilapidated one-room house. One of twelve children, she often had to wear clothes which her mother had to sew out of rags. She sings about their poverty in her hit song “Coat of Many Colors” and she recounts how her mother had to boost her spirits regarding this coat of rags by telling her the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. She has kept this coat and it now hangs in a museum in her theme park Dollywood.

Ranked in 1998 by Nashville Business as the wealthiest country music star, Parton has kept the memory of those days alive as her inspiration to share the fortune built up in the course of her career with those less fortunate. The linchpin of this philanthropy is the Dollywood Company through which she invested much of her earnings in her native East Tennessee. Like many places in the Appalachian region which have always been economically depressed, Parton's investments helped uplift the area. Partnering with the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, she became co-owner of the theme park Dollywood, which is the 24th most popular theme park in the USA.

In 1996, she set up the Dollywood Foundation. Partial to charities which encourage literacy, the Foundation established and runs the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. An enrolled child receives one book every month from the time it is born to the time it enters kindergarten. Naturally, the program started in Sevier County but it has expanded to 566 counties in 36 states in the USA. Overseas, the program has been installed in Canada and in the United Kingdom. Every year, the Library distributes over 2.5 million books to children, all for free.

In 2006, Parton contributed $500,000 to a new hospital and cancer center in Sevierville. She also staged a concert attended by 8,000 people to raise funds for the hospital, named after Dr. Robert F. Thomas, the physician who delivered her. In addition, she has worked on fund raising events to help the American Red Cross and charities involved in HIV/AIDS programs.

Parton's generosity has not gone unnoticed. She was given a Partnership Award by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in recognition of her efforts to preserve the bald eagle. Among her other awards for

philanthropic activities are the Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; AAP Award from the Association of American Publishers; Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, the first time it was ever awarded to an individual; Galaxy Award given by the American Association of School Administrators; the Chasing Rainbows award from the National State Teachers of the Year; and the Child and Family Advocacy Award of the Parent and Teachers National Center.

In 2009 the little girl who had to go to school in a dress made out of rags delivered the commencement speech at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's College of Arts & Sciences and was awarded a Doctorate of Humane and Musical Letters, honoris causa, the second honorary degree ever given by the university.