A number of Dolly Parton fans have demanded their money back following suggestions that part of Sunday’s concert in Zwolle was mimed, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday. The paper’s own reviewer had started the debate by asking why the sound during the show was so ‘crystal clear’ when she sang, but not when she was telling a story to her huge audience.

Yesterday’s Parool picked up the story: it’s own reviewer had praised her performance and fans described the Volkskrant’s claims as ‘scandalous’. Organiser Mojo told the Parool ‘we organise live concerts, not mime shows’.
But in today’s Volkskrant, Mojo has softened slightly. It says ‘complaints will be dealt with properly’.
As the paper pointed out, on Dolly’s own website Dollymania.net, it states: ‘Yes, certain pieces are pre-recorded. It is an attempt to entertain with a bigger production and, hopefully, better sound.’
(Dollymania has contacted DutchNews.nl to say that it is a fan-operated site, not Ms Parton’s own. They said “The quote from Dollymania.net cited in the newspaper did not refer to this speciifc concert but rather to a concert three years ago where she informed the audience before the show began that she would be using some pre-recorded “vocal enhancements.” Your story reads as if the quote was about this concert and this tour, but it was not. The complete quote as published, which referred solely to the concert three years ago, was: “Yes, there are portions of the songs in the show that are pre-recorded. I tell you that at the beginning of the show when I say, ‘If you notice some enhancement or doctoring in the show, it’s not to fool or trick anyone. It’s an effort to entertain by being able to have a bigger production and, hopefully, a better sound.’ Just know that it’s all Dolly, by golly.”)