Wynonna says touring is ‘amazing healing experience’ after mother Naomi Judd’s death
Julia Johnson
Video Embed
Singer Wynonna Judd revealed how she is healing through touring after her mother’s suicide last year.
“It healed me. It really did. It healed me, and I didn’t expect that,” she said of “The Judds: The Final Tour,” which her mother, Naomi Judd, was set to be a part of.
Naomi, a Grammy-winning country superstar, died by suicide in April. Her death came just before she and Wynonna were going to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“I have to admit, I’ve had an incredible, incredible opportunity to heal through all of this, to cry and to say things onstage that I’ll never say again,” Wynonna said. “This is a whole other level of deep, and I wasn’t expecting it. I knew it would be intense but this is literally, ‘Oh, my Lord.’ This is me with a broken heart being as open as I’ll probably ever be, and other people are responding to that in a way that I wasn’t expecting.”
WATCH: DA BLASTS ‘LACK OF CARE’ ON RUST SET AS BALDWIN VOWS TO FIGHT CHARGES
The country singer shared that fans have shared their own stories of relatives who died by suicide or are struggling with mental health. “It is intensely deep and personal,” she explained. “This is not just show business. It’s helping a lot of people.”
“Oh boy, did I feel like I had guardian angels all around me,” Wynonna said of performing during the tour. “And it was very, very spiritual for me to the point where I would come off stage, and it would take me hours and hours and hours to decompress.”
According to her, “Love Can Build a Bridge” is one of the most difficult songs for her to get through without crying. She explained that a photo of Naomi appears on the screen behind her during it.
iFrame Object
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Wynonna revealed that she “just cried, and I thought about her” on Naomi’s birthday on Jan. 11. “Ashley threw her a birthday party, and a bunch of our friends came and talked about her and told stories, and they had cake, and people cried, and it was an amazing celebration,” she added.
Because touring has been so therapeutic for her, Wynonna said that extending it was an easy decision. Last month, it was reported that the tour would extend into 2023. Dates will resume on Jan. 26 in Pennsylvania. Several iconic guests will join her to pay tribute to her late mother, including Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerini, and Martina McBride.