The Dolly Parton Experience
Capturing the stage at our 2025 Tauherenikau Music in the Country are Karen Davy and Ken Strong, appearing as The Dolly Parton Experience. Ken Strong singing as Kenny Rogers and Karen as Dolly Parton are iconic kiwi musicians. They have played both nationally and internationally, winning some serious awards along the way.
Karen Davy
Karen is a multi-award winning singer, performer, songwriter and recording artist with 28 awards including the Silver Scroll and the AGNEW Award for excellence in music, and last year winner of the Top Female Vocalist at the VACNZ Benny Awards. She is one of New Zealand’s top entertainers and a must see!
Karen has been a performer since 1989. She’s have been to Australia on several tours, performed at the Norfolk Island Country Music Festival, had seven sell-out shows two years running in Tamworth, sang as Dolly Parton in Las Vegas, been on television show Stars in Their Eyes NZ and performed hundreds of shows around New Zealand. The first time she sang Dolly was in 1990 for a [cosmetics company] Nutrimetics conference. Then two country music legends, Tracey-Maree Houia and Sally Burgess, were putting on a fundraiser concert, and asked her if she’d perform as Dolly, she continued from there.
Ken Strong
Ken was born and raised in Auckland, learning to sing and play guitar at family parties. Starting his musical career at the age of 13 and making his first recording by the age of 15, Ken worked his way up to become a well-respected and sought after guitarist covering a variety of genres. Ken has played in numerous Auckland bands through the years, including Desperadoes, the first NZ Eagles tribute band, which toured New Zealand through the 90’s.
Ken won the prestigious Top Musician Award at the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Benny Awards in 2017, and is a member of Karen Davy’s, Dreams The Fleetwood Mac Experience since 2011, which won the Top Group award in 2016.
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