Dolly Parton sends signed, bejeweled guitar to Austin drag performer Brigitte Bandit

The year ended on a high note for one local performer after unwrapping a gift sent from one queen to another.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The year ended on a high note for one local performer after unwrapping a gift sent from one queen to another.

During a gig at a downtown club Friday night, Brigitte Bandit received a surprise from one of her idols. In front of the crowd, the Austin-based drag queen opened a box wrapped in pink shiny paper that contained an acoustic guitar adorned with white and pink rhinestones and a personalized message. That message read, "To Brigitte. Love, Dolly Parton."

Bandit shared a video on her Instagram page of the moment when she realized who signed the guitar. She froze and held her hands over her mouth in shock. That feeling has yet to wear off, as she kept looking at the sparkly instrument propped behind her during an interview with KXAN Tuesday afternoon.

"I honestly can't believe it's even real," Bandit said, smiling. "I keep staring at it being like it's just going to disappear, and I'm going to wake up from this dream because it's just — it's just wild. It's very exciting."

Bandit learned the guitar came to her after she said Rebecca Seaver, with Dolly Parton Productions, saw a photo of her at the Texas Capitol last year. On a day she went to testify, Bandit held a children's book about the country music star. She said Seaver apparently showed that picture to Parton, who ended up signing the guitar to send Bandit's way.

"Dolly Parton was actually the second concert I ever saw. My first one was Cher, and Dolly was my second. I like to joke that's why I'm a drag queen now," Bandit said, laughing. "But Dolly has always been such a huge inspiration. I do call myself the Dolly of Austin. My very first paid booking was a Dolly show. Whenever I started to get a little bit more traction in the drag community, for some reason, Dolly and Brigitte just got together, and I was booked for so many Dolly events that eventually I just ended up becoming the Dolly. Often if somebody wanted a Dolly, I was there."

Bandit took several trips to the statehouse during the regular legislative session in 2023 to testify against a number of bills, including those aimed at limiting who could see drag performances and creating consequences for public libraries that host drag story time events for children. She eventually joined several other plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the state over the performance law, which led to a federal judge issuing a permanent injunction in September. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would appeal that ruling.

Those political fights came with darker, more challenging periods for Bandit, but she said receiving a gift personally from Dolly Parton is a moment worth celebrating. She added it's helping to propel her into what's to come in 2024.

"It's a public statement to send a guitar to a drag queen in Texas right now that's fighting this kind of anti-drag and anti-trans bills," Bandit said, "so I love Dolly for supporting the community and making sure that the people who are doing this feel heard. Everybody's excited to see that people notice what we're doing here."

Bandit said she plans to only perform once with this guitar before she places behind glass in a display case of some kind. Her intent is to perform a Dolly tribute with it on the singer's birthday on Jan. 19.