Wynonna Judd announces she'll continue the Judds tour without mother Naomi
Wynonna Judd has announced that the show must go on. The country music icon, also known mononymously as just Wynonna, said that after much thought, she would continue the tour she had originally planned on going on with her mother, the late Naomi Judd.
Wynonna made the announcement on CMT's Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration. The tribute was a somber yet still glorious affair, punctuated by performances from some of country music's brightest stars — Brandi Carlile, Emmylou Harris and Allison Russell, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley, among others — and heartfelt video tributes from the likes of Oprah, Salma Hayek, Reba McEntire, Bono, and Bette Midler.
Though the star, for lack of a better term of the night, was Judd's daughter Wynonna, who performed with her mother as The Judds, on and off, for close to 40 years. Wynonna, clearly still processing the untimely tragic death of her mother, with whom she had a notoriously difficult relationship, was funny, honest, and real about the ups and downs the two had.
"You didn't share a tour bus with her," Wynonna said to younger sister Ashley Judd, whose remembrances tended to be more tender and loving. But the eldest Judd sister reassured everyone that they were "showing the world what a dysfunctional family does. We show up for each other."
Before Naomi Judd took her own life on April 30, The Judds had announced that they would be heading out on a 10-city arena tour, dubbed The Final Tour, their first outing together in over a decade.
"What I'm looking forward to most is celebrating Judd music with the fans," Wynonna said at the time. "Mom and I have had quite the journey over the last 38 years, and the fans have been with us through it all. This tour is a celebration for them!"
So to celebrate both her mother and their fans, Wynonna will strike out on her own. "That's what she would have wanted," the singer said. "And what the fans would want."
The Judds were originally going to start their tour on Sept. 30 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and end it on Oct. 28 in Nashville.
Related content:
