Belles Performs at UNO Homecoming, a Year After Dolly Parton Duet

Belles Found Her Voice at UNO. Now She’s Sharing It with the World as a Rising Country Star

When Kelli Rachel Jones enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, she pictured a future in a white coat. This Sunday, Nov. 8, the artist known as Belles will return to her alma mater for a homecoming performance, capping off a year that included a Dolly Parton duet, a Grand Ole Opry performance, and the release of her first album. The event, hosted by UNO, marks a full circle for the artist who once balanced chemistry classes with Omaha bar gigs. According to unomaha.edu, Belles will take the stage at the Scott Conference Center (6450 Pine St.) at 6:30 P.M., with doors opening at 6 P.M.

The Road to Nashville

Her path was not a straight line. A Omaha Westside High School graduate who finished early at 16, Jones sought the flexibility of college life to manage her dual passions. For years, she wrestled with the choice between a stable career in medicine and a dream in music. She chose the latter, moving to Nashville at 19 to fully commit to her craft. Even as she chased stardom in Music City, her commitment to her education remained firm. While building her music career, she switched her major, took online courses through UNO, and, in 2019, earned a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies degree with a concentration in Non-Profit Administration.

Son of Jolene

To an outsider, Belles’s rise might seem like an overnight success. But she spent eight years in Nashville, a period she describes as “really hard for a long time and things were not looking good.” While her friends in Omaha were settling into traditional adult lives, she was collecting small victories that kept her hope alive. Then came the breakthrough. In a friend’s living room, she wrote “Son of Jolene,” a sequel to Dolly Parton’s iconic “Jolene.” The track was sent to Parton’s longtime band leader and primary producer, Kent Wells, who played it for the country legend herself. “I still can’t believe that really happened.”

Belles Performs at UNO Homecoming, a Year After Dolly Parton Duet

In April 2026, the duet was released, instantly putting Belles on the country music map and validating nearly a decade of relentless effort. The song debuted at No. 51 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and quickly amassed millions of listens. Three months later in July, Belles performed at the Grand Ole Opry, the hallowed Nashville stage that has served as a rite of passage for legends like Parton, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams for a century. “And that meant the world to me.”

Tragically, in August 2026, just one month after that performance, Dolly Parton passed away, making “Son of Jolene” the final new song she would ever record. The song simultaneously cemented Parton’s legacy and opened a new chapter for Belles as a talent for the genre moving forward. “She was everything you would think she would be and more,” Jones said of Parton. “She was so kind to me, and we had so much fun.”

It came from a lot of years of trying to figure it out. I just think never giving up has led to these moments.”

A UNO Homecoming

The whirlwind success has been relentless. Belles released her debut album, Midwestern, in October, and her schedule has been a global blur. She estimates she spent just four weeks at her Nashville home this year, crisscrossing from London to Las Vegas to New York City. “It’s exhausting at times,” she admitted.

Her return to Omaha this Sunday is more than just a concert; it’s a homecoming. It concludes a week of UNO Homecoming festivities and brings her back to the place where she made the difficult decision to follow her passion. For students in the audience who might be facing similar crossroads between a practical degree and a creative dream, Jones offers a perspective forged in that very struggle.