Wynonna Judd last performed in Atlanta in October 2022. It was a bittersweet tour stop, as she was supposed to be performing with her mom, Naomi Judd, who died six months earlier of a self-inflicted gun wound.
She didn’t cancel. Instead, she turned the tour into an all-star celebration of her mother with various acts at different venues. At Gas South Arena in Duluth, she was supported by Georgia’s own Little Big Town.
“It was like a car crash,” Judd admitted in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before her concert Friday at Sweetland Amphitheatre in LaGrange. “But I survived it. It proved I can do hard things. If I can help one person choose life, then I did my job well.”
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Reserved seating is sold out, but there are still $39 general admission lawn seats available for her concert at sweetlandamp.com.
Judd, who turned 61 on May 30, said her friends and family keep her mentally together. “I surround myself with good people,” she said, including her husband, Cactus Moser, and her granddaughter Kaliyah, whose mom, Grace, is grappling with a host of legal problems.
“My 3-year-old granddaughter is watching me to see how I do life,” Judd said. “I live on a farm. I have 450 animals. I stay focused on the present, which is where life is. I am watching her right now twirl with her pony.”
Judd said what keeps her centered is “gratitude. It’s not easy but it’s really important.”
The upcoming tour kicks off in LaGrange and runs through the summer. It will feature a blend of her solo hits, Judds classics and a sampling of new music she’s working on. For her, touring beats “sitting at home and being depressed and complaining and being a victim. I have this gift to sing. Singing heals me.”
She said she uses a common line for the rigors of touring: “I get paid to travel. I play for free.”
For Judd, the time on stage is “my time to commune with my fans since 1984 who bring their kids and grandkids. At this point, I see four generations out there.”
The meet and greets, she said, are always special.
“I see real people in the real world,” Judd said. “They love me for what I do, for who I am. They know me. They’ve grown up with me. They watched me through all my crap.”
And the tour itself is a family affair because her husband is her drummer and producer. “Thank God I don’t have to do it myself,” she said. “I’ve had this great team around me for the past 30 years. We’re really tight.”
She said she feels an obligation to give her all on stage every time — no matter how she feels.
“I heard it from my elders like Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn: ‘Always show up on time and be prepared,’” Judd said. “I wasn’t always like that in my earlier years. I was so shy and so traumatized trying to be on and be smart and be successful. I was so young. I didn’t get it. I do now.”
Last month, Lifetime aired the four-part documentary “The Judd Family: Truth Be Told.” It chronicles the rocky relationship Wynonna had with her mom and her sister, actor Ashley Judd, over the decades with an emphasis on Naomi’s mental health struggles.
Wynonna appeared in the series and spoke honestly about her mother. But she said she only cooperated because her sister did as well.
“I have no plans to watch it,” she said.
In the series, Wynonna noted: “I love my sister. I will always love my sister. And we are united in grief.”
If You Go
Wynonna Judd, 8 p.m., Friday. Tickets start at $39. Sweetland Amphitheatre, 110 Smith St., LaGrange. 706-298-5434, freshtix.com.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
