Nashville, TN (October 27, 2026)—This weekend, AES Show Nashville 2026 will host a special event panel, “Recording the Queen of Country: In the Studio with Dolly Parton,” a tribute to the legendary singer and songwriter. Producer and engineer Val Garay will moderate the conversation with producer, guitarist and longtime Parton collaborator Kent Wells; recording engineer and producer Mark Needham; and session drummer Nir Z.
The panel takes place Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. at the AES Show on the Main Stage at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Through personal recollections and specific recording examples, the panel will examine how Parton’s collaborators supported her artistic efforts while keeping her voice, phrasing and storytelling at the center of each record.
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For producers, engineers and musicians, the discussion will connect those experiences to practical decisions about arrangements, vocal production, groove and capturing an emotionally compelling performance.
In particular, two albums will be discussed: The Great Pretender (1984) and Rockstar (2023). Recorded nearly four decades apart, they reveal different approaches to interpreting familiar songs through Parton’s distinctive musical personality.
Val Garay, who produced and engineered The Great Pretender, will revisit that recording experience during the panel discussion. Garay offers a firsthand perspective on capturing Parton’s voice, shaping arrangements around her performances and recognizing when a take delivers the emotional truth of a song.
Kent Wells brings the perspective of a long-term creative partnership that grew from playing guitar with Parton to producing her records, including Rockstar. His experience will anchor a discussion of trust, song development and the choices that allowed Parton to enter new musical territory while remaining unmistakably herself.
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Mark Needham, who worked closely with Wells on Rockstar, brings the perspective of a production and recording engineer who helped shape the sound of that album, engineering 26 of its 30 tracks, including collaborations with Sting, Ann Wilson and Stevie Nicks. His experience of working on Rockstar, as well as mixer on several other Parton projects, will anchor a discussion of collaboration, recording choices and the craft of bringing distinct musical voices together while keeping Parton’s own voice at the heart of the album.
Nir Z, whose drumming appears on multiple Rockstar tracks, will bring the conversation into the rhythm section: listening to a singer’s phrasing, finding the right feel and knowing when a simpler part gives a performance more power. His contributions will illuminate how musicians help shape a recording before decisions reach the mixing stage.
“Honoring Dolly means celebrating the artist she was and the person we were so blessed to know,” said Val Garay. “Each of us on this panel had the privilege of working with her and experiencing the warmth, humor and musical instinct she brought to a session. Sharing our stories and anecdotes is a way to remember those moments and give others a glimpse of what made recording with her so special.”
