With her recent appearance as a Mega Mentor on The Voice, country music legend Wynonna Judd traveled back to the 90s for her “Back To Wy” tour last fall. It celebrated her debut and sophomore albums, Wynonna and Tell Me Why. The 15-night tour began on Oct. 26, 2023 in Indianapolis, Ind. and came to a close on Dec. 1, 2023 in Knoxville, Tenn. Thousands of fans attended every night in support of her and her music. “You kinda become family when you get inside of a Wynonna concert,” said Donna from Richmond, Va. “Doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, everybody just comes together because music is healing.” With her iconic red hair and remakes of her iconic 90s outfits, Judd owned the stage through her powerful vocals and charisma.
Born on May 30, 1964 as Christina Claire Ciminella, in Ashland, Ky. and growing up primarily in California and Tennessee, one of the few sources of entertainment for Judd was music. She learned to play the guitar as a young teen. At the age of 18, RCA Victor Records signed her and her mother, Naomi (then known as Diana); the mother-daughter duo was an “overnight” success and named themselves “The Judds.” Starting in 1983, over the next eight years, they released a total of eight studio albums, multiple singles, and performed countless concerts. Though The Judds were primarily popular in the late 80s and early 90s, they still continue to inspire people today with over 1.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
On Dec. 4, 1991, Naomi and Wynonna had their last performance together as The Judds on “The Judds Farewell Tour” as a way to bring an era to a close. At the same time, Ashley Judd, W. Judd’s half-sister began her career as an actress. Their mother had to step back from releasing music and touring because of a hepatitis C diagnosis. When asked about what audience members thought of the tour, Donna stated, “I’m excited that she [Wynonna] is back, again ‘Back To Wy.’ I did go to ‘The Judds Farewell Tour’ and that was a nice send off to Naomi, but it was a nice opening for Wy to come back and do her thing. I’m very excited about this tour.”
A year later, W. Judd began her solo career. Her debut album Wynonna was released in 1992 and her sophomore album, Tell Me Why, in 1993; she’s released eight albums since. In 1995, a film titled Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge was released; it’s a two-part drama narrated by A. Judd about her sister and mother’s life story, together as The Judds, of welfare to millionaire. On Nov. 21, 2023, W. Judd released a single titled Beautiful Star of Bethlehem. It was originally released by The Judds on their Christmas Time With The Judds album back in 1987. The newest rendition of this song is an ode to what the past 40 years have brought W. Judd. “The first song I think I fell in love with was the old Judds’ music like ‘Born To Be Blue,’ which is definitely one of my favorites,” shared Amy from Roanoke Rapids, N.C. “My favorite solo Wynonna song is ‘Tell Me Why.’ I think her music reflects a lot of meaning behind family, love, and religion. They’re [the songs] all powerful with a lot of soul to them.”
Judd stands as one of the most awarded and well-known female artists in country music. Rolling Stone dubbed Judd as “the greatest female country singer since Patsy Cline.” In the 90s, the country music industry was male-dominated, but with her solo entrance, she proved and still inspires many young women today that their dreams can come true and their voices can be heard. “I think that she originated with her fan base, again you’re talking about 40 years ago,” mentioned Donna. “Back in that time, there was a true commitment to those artists and music and they’ve trickled down to their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a family musical environment is what I feel like Wynonna presents to everybody.”
About a week before the announcement of the “Back To Wy” tour, Judd revealed through an Instagram post that her official fan club, “Wynation,” would be back for the first time in 20 years. “I think she still has such a big fan base because she’s so real and raw,” said Amy. “What you see is what you get. She embraces her imperfections as well as her perfections and talents. She’s just a normal person like me and you with a God-given gift she’s sharing with everybody.” On Instagram, a post of a wooden chest with an engraving of “do not open until August 21, 2023” with the caption of a key emoji was shared on Aug. 18. Needless to say, fans were eager and intrigued to know what this meant. On the twenty-first, Judd posted a video of her opening the wooden chest which was filled with merch and memorabilia from past tours as well as new merch for the “Back To Wy” tour. Kevin from Dunn, N.C. commented, “the songs she’s singing on the tour are just feel good. They take you back to another place like when you were growing up; they take you back to a simpler time.”
On April 30, 2022, Judd’s mother lost her battle with depression and took her own life, leaving Judd and the legacy of The Judds behind. This was the day before The Judds were to be inducted as members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. On May 15, 2022, on a television special in commemoration for her mother, Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration, presented by CMT, Country Music Television, Judd announced that she would complete a final tour to celebrate her mother’s life and the legacy of The Judds. Judd uses her music to reach out to those who need help and tells them they are not alone; she’s an advocate for the importance of mental health and suicide prevention.
During “The Judds: The Final Tour,” she traveled nationwide with a number of special guests: Martina McBride, Brandi Carlile, Ashley McBryde, Little Big Town, Kelsea Ballerini, Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill, and Tanya Tucker. McBride was a frequent special guest and sang with Judd along with another artist, which changed every couple shows. Not only did they perform alongside Judd, but they were there for her in one of her darkest moments. Originally, “The Judds: The Final Tour” was only meant to be from Sept. 30, 2022 to Oct. 29, 2022 with 11 shows, but the fans wanted more. As the end of 2022 came, Judd announced a second leg of the tour, which started on Jan. 26, 2023 and ended on Feb. 25, 2023 with a total of 15 shows. Kevin mentioned, “I think ‘Back To Wy’ is awesome. We attended a show on The Final Tour and her mom had just passed and I think it’s pretty cool that Wy is going back to her roots to who she really is.”
2023 was filled with many memorable moments for Judd. January and February were the months filled with “The Judds: The Final Tour” and the legacy of The Judds. A documentary titled Wynonna Judd: Between Hell and Hallelujah was released in April on Paramount Plus, giving a behind-the-scenes look of what went on during the fall leg of The Final Tour. The summer months were filled with fairs and festivals across the country celebrating her solo hits as well as The Judds’. In September, she was awarded Country Champion at the People’s Choice Country Music Awards hosted by Little Big Town at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn. On Oct. 27, a compilation album of the top hits by The Judds was released, titled A Tribute To The Judds. The songs included on the album are sung by classic country artists as well as up-and-coming artists. A few of these artists include Reba McEntire, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, Dolly Parton, and Wynonna Judd herself.
As Mega Mentor on the 24th season of The Voice, contestants had the opportunity to hear feedback from the country music icon alongside one of the coaches. During the finale, finalist Jacquie Roar and her coach, Reba McEntire, sang a duet of one of Judd’s number one hits, “No One Else On Earth,” which appears on her debut album Wynonna. On Dec. 7, Judd hosted and performed on “Christmas At The Opry,” a two-hour television special filled with Christmas music and country traditions aired by NBC. Many other artists performed including Brenda Lee, Kelly Clarkson, and actress Chrissy Metz. The taping of the special was on Oct. 3 at the Grand Ole Opry, the stage and home of country music, where over 200 artists have been inducted as members over the past 98 years.
Judd’s social media has been a constant communication tool between her and her fans. There is an official Facebook group for Judd’s fans called “Wynonna Judd’s Wynation (Official)” with over 104K members and counting. On there, her fans share anything related to Judd; they often share updates on how Judd has effects on their lives and what her music has done to better them. Judd calls her fans “her family of choice” or “fan-mily.” At the “Back To Wy” show in Durham, N.C., Hannah from Peterstown, W.Va., a Wynonna fan of 23 years, said, “her music gives me encouragement – she got me through nursing school.” A 40-year long fan, Donna, stated “considering I was ten when I first started listening to her, I feel like it’s [her music] been part of my life journey. I would say she’s gotten me through a lot of things.” Amy added, “I’ve been a fan of Wynonna for about 35 years. She interacts with the fans so well and I think it’ll be pretty emotional for all of us that’ve been following her for so many years.”
In Judd’s song “Rock Bottom” on the Tell Me Why album, Judd sings: “When you hit rock bottom / You’ve got two ways to go / Straight up and sideways / I have seen my share of hard times / And I’m lettin’ you know / Straight up is my way.” These lyrics reveal how Judd takes on obstacles and pushes through them in life. Kevin said, “she’s a great singer and I think the younger generations really don’t know her because she was around back then, but I think she’s showin’ up and showin’ people what she’s got.” With Judd’s fanbase continuing to grow and the renewal of Wynation, the future, filled with “The Wyld Unknown” looks bright ahead.
Author’s Notes:
The author attended the “Back To Wy” stop in Durham, N.C. on Nov. 30, 2023, where she conducted interviews with members of the audience at the concert. The author took all photos in the story.
