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Watch The Killers frontman pay tribute to Parton during an intimate hometown show in Salt Lake City.
By Scott Bernstein Aug 31, 2026 • 12:39 pm PDT
Brandon Flowers paid tribute to Dolly Parton on Friday during the first of two Thrasher Tour warmup shows at The State Room in Salt Lake City. The Killers frontman brought backing vocalists Erica Canales and Nicky Egan centerstage to join him on a cover of “Islands In The Stream.”
Parton died on August 25 at age 80 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville after a brief battle with cancer. Musicians across genres have paid tribute to the country music legend in the days since her death.
Written by the Bee Gees, “Islands In The Stream” was famously recorded by Parton and Kenny Rogers for Rogers’ 1983 album, Eyes That See In The Dark. The duet topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Friday’s concert came one week after Flowers released Thrasher, his first solo album in 11 years. The Utah native described the record as a return to the country music he heard growing up, citing Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings among the artists his father played during drives through the Utah countryside. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found my way back to my father’s music, ‘Country-Western,’” Flowers stated. “The stories I carry really feel most at home in the skin of this beautiful American tradition.”
Flowers showcased eight of Thrasher’s 10 tracks on Friday, including the live debuts of “The Red Ground,” “Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?,” “Angel” and show-closing “An American Dream.” The intimate warmup also saw Flowers dig into his previous solo albums, bringing back Flamingo track “Hard Enough” and The Desired Effect cut “Between Me And You” for the first time since 2015. “Magdalena” and “Can’t Deny My Love” returned for the first time since 2016.
Flowers also worked The Killers’ “In The Car Outside” and “In Another Life” into Friday’s set. He returned to The State Room on Saturday for a second warmup show ahead of the Thrasher Tour.
Watch Flowers, Canales and Egan honor Dolly Parton with “Islands In The Stream” below:
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Brandon Flowers officially kicks off the Thrasher Tour on September 1 in Phoenix. The North American portion concludes on October 6 in Las Vegas, where The Killers formed.
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The Red Ground
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Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?
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Crossfire
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Tiger’s Blood
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Plans
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Paradise
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Still Want You
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Angel
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Magdalena
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Miss America
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In the Car Outside
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Hard Enough
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Islands in the Stream
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Lonely Town
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Can’t Deny My Love
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Only the Young
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In Another Life
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Between Me and You
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An American Dream
Setlist data setlist.fm.
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