Country
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From its very infancy, one of the attractions of country music has been its respect for the past.
Many of the genre’s early pioneers, including Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family, made their mark by leaning on so-called “old-fashioned songs,” nostalgic material drawn from a simpler time, before the mass migration to the city, before the Model T destroyed the horse and buggy, and before racy, decadent jazz had reached its peak.
Of course, music is an art, and artists tend to experiment, so the ongoing major battle in country music is the push and pull between expanding boundaries and hanging on to tradition.
Appropriately in 2022 — which happened to mark the 100th anniversary of the first country recording session — that tug of war between progress and tradition was very much evident.
Musically, the sounds of the past were trendy as the current generation of hit-makers celebrates ’90s country. The genre was full of examples, including three of the top 10 songs on the year-end Country Airplay chart: the Garth Brooks-like drama of Cody Johnson’s “ ’Til You Can’t,” the heartbreak storyline filtered through a Texas troubadour in Scotty McCreery’s “Damn Strait” and the Cole Swindell megahit “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” which returned the melody of Jo Dee Messina’s debut to regular rotation over two decades after its original chart run.
The rise of ronky tonk — a raw, stripped-down form of country (maybe it should be spelled “rawnky tonk”?) — pushed back against the genre’s 10-year party mode while sounding a little more like country has historically presented itself. It brought a new round of young artists to the forefront, including Bailey Zimmerman, Zach Bryan, Jackson Dean and Nate Smith. And it took place as the Paramount+ series Yellowstone soared, resurrecting the once popular western format and adding to the luster of Lainey Wilson, a new artist whose country authenticity fits with her role in the show.
Yet even as country recycled its past, the format is clearly moving forward at the same time. The ubiquitous presence of Jimmie Allen, the multiple collaborations of BRELAND, Kane Brown’sexperiment with stadium headlining and the introduction of new talents — including Madeline Edwards, Tiera Kennedy, Brittany Spencer, The War and Treaty and Chapel Hart — underscores a very real interest in expanding the genre’s diversity, with Black and biracial women making greater inroads alongside the recent uptick in the format’s Black males.
Not that the progressive edge of country rosters and playlists is a one-issue concern. Frank Ray and Kat + Alex are bringing a long-absent Latino influence to the genre’s mainstream, while other acts continue widening the sound of country, including Americana-leaning Boy Named Banjo, hip-hop-tinged Kidd G, adventurous Sam Williams and piano-based Ingrid Andress.
It’s not just the artistic part of country that moved forward in 2022. Podcasts and streaming continued growing, opening more avenues for songs and artists to emerge. BBR Music Group even assigned dedicated employees to focus on single, sprawling media companies: YouTube manager Aaron Wilder and vp of promotion and marketing/SiriusXM Radio Scotty O’Brien.
Country radio, historically the dominant platform for exposing new music, recognized its diminished role more openly. Several panels at February’s Country Radio Seminar addressed broadcasters’ sluggish approach to music rotations, and Country’s Radio Coach owner John Shomby spearheaded a committee that united multiple industry factions in an attempt to reverse the trend.
CRS was held in person after the pandemic forced a remote version of the seminar in 2021. It wasn’t the only annual event that returned to a physical location: CMA Fest took over Nashville’s downtown again after a two-year absence, though a number of industry members caught COVID-19 during the celebration.
Nearly every artist was back on the road, too, creating its own set of issues. With some longtime support crew retiring or changing career paths during the pandemic, artists — particularly at the club and theater level — were challenged when trying to book full road teams and transportation.
The Academy of Country Music became the first major organization to shift its awards show from network TV to a streaming platform, and Viacom shifted the CMT Music Awards for the first time from cable to the CBS broadcast network, revising the schedule in the process as the CMTs moved from the week of CMA Fest to the spring.
By summer, the new routine left much of the industry’s personnel worn out as they returned to a hyper-active calendar after two years of mostly working at home.
Reigning over it all was Morgan Wallen, whose Dangerous: The Double Album dynamited the previous chart record by extending his No. 1 status on Country Albums to 86 weeks. Despite not fully cleaning up his public image after uttering a racial slur in February 2020, he topped nine different country lists among Billboard’s year-end charts, snared a CMA nomination for entertainer of the year, had the RIAA certify 43 different titles during the calendar year and set a 2023 concert schedule that includes 17 stadiums.
The subject of race is part of the push and pull that the industry will continue to address in the future. Back when those old-fashioned songs first took hold in the 1920s, record executives specifically marketed hillbilly records and race music — as the categories were called at the time — to separate audiences. In short order, the artists were segregated as well. The industry is taking steps to better reach Black audiences and expand the ranks of African American executives. Progress is essential to keep every valuable enterprise alive.
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Dolly Parton revealed her recipe for a successful marriage in a new interview on Monday (Dec. 19).
“I like it when people say, ‘How did it last so long?’ I say, ‘I stay going,’” the country legend told ET Canada of her 56-year union with husband Carl Dean. “You know, there’s a lot to be said about that. So we’re not in each other’s face all the time. He’s not in the business, so we have different interests, but yet we have the things we love to do together. So it was meant to be, I think. He was the one I was supposed to have and and vice versa.”
As the story goes, Parton met her future hubby at a laundromat the day she arrived in Nashville and the pair have been going strong ever since. “We both have a warped sense of humor,” she added. “And I think humor, honestly, is one of the best things when you’re married like that. Even if you have a problem, if you have a great sense of humor, if you say something you can’t take back [you] usually have some crazy way of getting out of it.”
Parton has had a busy December, from finally joining TikTok to stopping by The Kelly Clarkson Show to duet with Kelly Clarkson on “9 to 5.” Plus, her latest compilation album, Diamonds & Rhinestones: The Greatest Hits Collection, bowed in the top five of the Top Country Albums chart (dated Dec. 3).
Next up for the country icon is her co-hosting gig for NBC’s upcoming New Year’s special, Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, with goddaughter Miley Cyrus.
The best thing about bein’ a woman is the prerogative to have confidence in your body, no matter what stage of life you’re in. That’s exactly how Shania Twain feels, anyway.
In a recent interview with People, the 57-year-old country-pop star opened up about why she chose to pose topless for the cover artwork of her September single “Waking Up Dreaming,” set to appear on her February album Queen of Me. “This is me expressing my truth,” she shared. “I’m comfortable in my own skin, and this is the way I am sharing that confidence.”
“I think the best fashion is confidence, and whatever you wear — if you’re wearing it with that, it’s fashionable,” she continued. “I am a woman in my late 50s, and I don’t need to hide behind the clothes. I can’t even tell you how good it felt to do nude shooting. I was just so unashamed of my new body, you know, as a woman that is well into my menopause. I’m not even emotional about it; I just feel OK about it. It’s really liberating.”
Though she has had her struggles with self-image, according to People, Twain has projected confidence in her body since the beginning of her career. In the music video for her 1993 single “What Made You Say That,” for example, she went braless. But now, she’s learning to carry that confidence into her late 50s.
“From the very beginning — the very first video — I was ditching the bra,” she told the publication. “But, I was a lot firmer then, so as I grew older, I started feeling a different pressure of, ‘Well, your breasts are not as plump as they used to be. Your skin is not as tight as it used to be. Maybe you should start covering it up a little bit more.’”
“I hit this wall and was like, ‘Whoa, my confidence is regressing,’” she added. “‘My courage is dulling. Why am I allowing this? Frig that.’ I am not regressing. I am embracing my body as it changes, as I should have from my childhood to my teens, as I should be from my taut 20s and 30-year-old self, to my menopausal body. I’m not going to be shy about it. I want to be courageous about it, and I want to share that courage in the artwork that I am directing.”
See Shania’s “Waking Up Dreaming” cover art below:
Morgan Wallen claims a share of history on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “You Proof” hits a record-tying eight weeks atop the survey.
The song, up 5% to 25.1 million audience impressions Dec. 12-18, according to Luminate, matches the No. 1 Country Airplay runs of Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (2003) and Lonestar’s crossover hit “Amazed” (1999), dating to the chart’s start in 1990.
“You Proof,” released on Big Loud Records, is also the first Country Airplay No. 1 to withstand multiple other leaders amid its command. After it ruled for five weeks (Oct. 15-Nov. 12), Tyler Hubbard’s “5 Foot 9” topped the Nov. 19 chart, followed by Thomas Rhett’s “Half of Me,” featuring Riley Green (Nov. 26). After “You Proof” led again on the Dec. 3 tally, Bailey Zimmerman’s “Fall in Love” paced the Dec. 10 chart, ahead of the two latest weeks at No. 1 for “You Proof” (Dec. 17 and 24).
Wallen co-wrote “You Proof,” his seventh Country Airplay leader, with ERNEST, Ashley Gorley, Keith Smith and Charlie Handsome, the latter of whom also produced it with Joey Moi.
Concurrently, “You Proof” leads the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart for an 18th week, becoming one of only 10 singles to reign for at least that long (since the list became an all-encompassing genre survey in 1958). It holds at the summit with 28.1 million in all-format radio audience, 12.6 million official streams and 2,000 downloads sold in the U.S. Dec. 9-15.
Barrett Moves ‘Up’
Gabby Barrett nets her third Country Airplay top 10 as “Pick Me Up,” which she co-wrote, pushes 11-9 (18 million, up 9%). Her first two entries (among four so far) each hit No. 1: “I Hope,” for a week in April 2020, and “The Good Ones,” for three frames starting in April 2021.
‘Tequila’ Talkin’
Jason Aldean scores his 36th Country Airplay top 10 as “That’s What Tequila Does” rises 12-10 (16.1 million, up 18%). The single follows “Trouble With a Heartbreak,” which became his 25th leader when it began a three-week reign in May. His first entry, “Hicktown,” marked his first top 10 (No. 10, 2005).
Aldean ties Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton for the ninth-most Country Airplay top 10s. George Strait leads all acts with 61, followed closely by Kenny Chesney (60) and Tim McGraw (59).
The Country Music Association (CMA) has elected its board of directors for 2023, with new board members including songwriter Rhett Akins, Onsite Entertainment executive Debbie Carroll, Pink Dog Entertainment leader Curt Jenkins, Warner Music Nashville co-head Ben Kline, CCLD LLC’s Chris Lisle, BMG Nashville/BBR Music Group leader Jon Loba, Monument Records general manager Katie McCartney, Maverick’s Chris Parr, Grand Ole Opry vp/executive producer Dan Rogers, Sony Music Publishing Nashville executive vp of creative Josh Van Valkenburg, Press On Publicity founder Wes Vause and singer/songwriter/musician Charlie Worsham.
The board officers for 2023 will be chairman Charlie Morgan of Apple Music; president Kella Farris of Farris, Self & Moore; president-elect Jennie Smythe of Girlilla Marketing; and secretary/treasurer Virginia Bunetta of G Major Management.
The CMA’s elected and appointed board members include artist managers, songwriters, radio executives, publicists, music publishers, record label executives and touring/live entertainment executives. See the full list of 2023 CMA Board of Directors at cmaworld.com.
Recently, the CMA revealed the nominees for the upcoming CMA Touring Awards, which will be held Jan. 30 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. CMA members in the following membership groups are eligible to vote on the 15 categories up for awards: advertising/public relations/media, affiliated, artist, entertainment services, marketing/digital, musician, personal manager, record label, talent agent, talent buyer/promoter, touring and venue.
During the recent CMA Awards held in November in Nashville, Luke Combs continued his reign as CMA entertainer of the year, while his album Growin’ Up earned album of the year honors (Combs earned two trophies for this win, as both artist and producer on the project). Combs is the first person to win entertainer of the year and album of the year on the same night since Taylor Swift did so in 2009.
Elsewhere, Chris Stapleton became the first six-time male vocalist of the year winner, surpassing Vince Gill, George Strait and Blake Shelton, each of whom is a five-time winner in the category. Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde also won musical event of the year for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” Their win marks the first all-female collaboration to win in 28 years — since Reba McEntire and Linda Davis’ “Does He Love You” in 1994.
Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Lorrie Morgan, Tanya Tucker and more are set to honor the life and career of late country music artist George Jones, with a one-night-only concert event and television taping, Still Playin’ Possum: Music and Memories of George Jones slated for April 25, 2023 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Jones, one of country music’s most influential vocalists, died nearly a decade ago, on April 26, 2013 in Nashville, Tenn. at age 81.
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The television taping, announced by Jones’ widow Nancy Jones, will also feature Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore, Mark Chesnutt, Michael Ray, Sam Moore, Trace Adkins, Tracy Byrd and Tracy Lawrence among the first round of announced special guests.
“George Jones died on April 26, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee. It will be ten years since he left us with just his songs, so to produce this night of music to honor his legacy is perfectly fitting,” Nancy Jones said via a statement. “George made history and influenced artists from all genres and many of them will celebrate with us in April. The night will bring lots of emotion for the fans, our family, and anyone who just loved country music.”
Ticket prices will start at $25.00 and a special VIP upgrade, which includes dinner the night before with Nancy Jones and friends, for $200.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Jones was born in Saratoga, Texas. He served in the United States Marine Corps before returning to Texas and recording for the Starday label. He earned his first Billboard country hit, “Why Baby Why,” in 1955. He followed with his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1959, with the Mercury Records single “White Lightning,” which stayed at No. 1 for five weeks. He would go on to record for labels including United Artists, Musicor, Epic, MCA, Asylum and Bandit Records, and would earn a lengthy list of enduring hits, including “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “The Grand Tour,” “Bartender’s Blues,” “She Thinks I Still Care,” “A Good Year for the Roses,” “The Race is On,” and “Tender Years,” as well as a string of hit duets with Tammy Wynette, including “We’re Gonna Hold On” and “Golden Ring.”
“He Stopped Loving Her Today,” which Jones released in 1980, won the CMA Award for single of the year, while helping Jones win the top male vocalist award in 1980 and 1981. He also earned a Grammy award for best country vocal performance, male. Over the course of his career, Jones earned two Grammy wins (also earning a best male country vocal performance accolade for “Choices”) and 16 nominations. Jones was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992.
Mark your calendars, country fans! Dolly Parton‘s new song comes out in… 23 years. In a newly released clip from the country music icon’s appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show a couple weeks ago, Parton opened up about the top-secret song she wrote and buried in a time capsule seven years ago — and confessed that she really, really wants to go dig it up.
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Sitting down with Kelly Clarkson a few weeks ago, Parton talked about how the song, written and recorded for the 2015 opening of her Dollywood DreamMore resort, has driven her crazy for years. “You have no idea how that has bothered me,” the “Jolene” singer told Clarkson on Dec. 1. “I wanna go dig that up so bad. It’s a really good song!”
“I don’t know whose damn idea that was,” she joked. “They weren’t expecting me to be there at all, and I probably won’t be. I might be there, who knows. I figure it’ll probably disintegrate and nobody will ever hear it, that’s what bothers me. If it rots in there before they open it.”
Parton first announced the song’s existence in her 2020 book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, revealing that it will come to light when her theme park staff opens up the time capsule on the resort’s 30th anniversary in 2045 — meaning, she will be 99 years old when people finally hear it. The “Jolene” singer wrote that putting the mysterious track in the capsule felt “like burying one of my kids, putting it on ice or something, and I won’t be around to see it brought back to life.”
“It’s just burning me up inside that I have to leave it in there,” she added at the time.
The 10-time Grammy winner’s Kelly Clarkson Show appearance also featured a surprise live performance of “9 to 5,” sung as a duet with Clarkson after the two recorded a new version of the 1980 hit for the movie Still Working 9 to 5. During the show, Parton also opened up about the very first time she ever heard Whitney Houston’s iconic cover of her classic hit “I Will Always Love You.”
“I was just driving along, and I had the radio on,” Dolly recalled. “It’s one of those things, it was like a dog hearing a whistle. ‘What is that?’ That’s the first time — they hadn’t sent it to me or nothing. When it went into, ‘And I …,’ I just freaked out.”
“I had to pull over to the side, because I honestly thought I was going to wreck,” she added. “It was the most overwhelming feeling, and you know how great that was.”
Watch Parton chat with Clarkson about her secret track in the video above.
Shania Twain‘s been knocked down, several times, but she’s gotten up again. And as she prepares to release her first album in more than five years, Queen of Me (Feb. 3), the queen of country pop is feeling like her old self. After an extended break in the early and mid 2000s due to battles with Lyme disease and dysphonia that nearly robbed the singer of her voice — as well as a break-up with her producer/husband Robert John “Mutt” Lange — Twain told People that she’s found love, and her signature shimmering vocals, again.
“I really found such a wonderful life,” Twain told the magazine about her loving relationship with second husband Frédéric Thiébaud, whom she married after learning that husband of 14 years Lange was having an affair with her close friend, Thiébaud’s ex-wife, Marie-Anne. “It’s like a renaissance period for me. To be experiencing it as a relevant artist still, that’s rewarding,” added the singer who is also preparing to launch a global tour in April 2023. “I feel a renewed confidence. I don’t have anything to prove anymore, and I feel freedom in that.”
Twain, 57, the best-selling female country artist of all time with record sales of more than 100 million worldwide thanks to such indelible hits as “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “You’re Still the One” hasn’t released a full-length album since 2017’s Now. After taking an extended break from music for nearly 15 years due to the devastating effects of Lyme disease on her voice, Twain started re-emerging with her “Let’s Go” Las Vegas residency (Dec. 2019-Sept. 2022) and now the first album since her 1993 debut that was not co-written or produced by ex Lange.
“I may not be able to [sing] forever, but right now I’m just enjoying where I am,” said Twain, who was told by doctors that a 2004 tick bite may have led to the Lyme disease that damaged nerves in her vocal cords. After re-learning how to sing and adding in extensive warm-ups and physical therapy, Twain had open-throat surgery in 2018 to strengthen the damaged nerves and the results are an album People said is a testament to her newfound happiness and comfort.
Described as “upbeat [and] empowering,” Queen of Me began as a project to escape the darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the first part of a slow-rolling return to form that included a pop-up cameo with Harry Styles during his Coachella set in April and a summer Netflix documentary, Not Just a Girl, that shone a light on her history-making career.
“All these years later, I’m still here, almost in a bigger way,” said Twain, “and I’m embracing it.”
Country Radio Hall of Fame member Charlie Monk, known affectionately within the Nashville music industry as “The Mayor of Music Row,” died at his home in Nashville on Monday (Dec. 19). He was 84.
During his 60-plus-year career, Monk impacted the careers of numerous artists, including Randy Travis, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert and Faith Hill. Monk was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2019.
Born Charles Franklin Monk on Oct. 29, 1938, in Geneva, Alabama, his career in entertainment began in high school in the 1950s, when he started sweeping floors at his hometown radio station WGEA. He quickly landed a weekend on-air shift as a disc jockey.
He went on to serve in the U.S. Army but was quickly drawn back to radio. He became a DJ on WTBF radio while attending Troy State University, followed by a stint on WKRG radio and television in Mobile, Alabama. He became program director and afternoon personality at WACT in Tuscaloosa, before returning to Mobile as a program director at WUNI. Monk would lead the station to become the top-ranking station in the market.
During his time at WUNI, he appeared as a guest announcer on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry. In 1968, he moved to Nashville and WMTS radio in Murfreesboro, where his free-form music and talk show for the station became the first daily radio broadcast from Nashville’s Music Row.
In 1969, he was a founder of Country Radio Seminar, an annual multi-day educational event which has offered networking and career growth opportunities for the music industry professionals for more than 50 years while also serving as a top showcase event for new and emerging artists.
Monk produced and hosted the annual New Faces Show for 40 years and in the process, helped launch the careers of artists including McEntire, Travis, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, McGraw, Hill, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean, Vince Gill, Lambert, Strait and many others.
Monk also joined the staff of performing rights organization ASCAP in 1970 and began learning every aspect of the music business, while at the same time establishing relationships across the city’s country and gospel music industries.
In 1977, Monk became the Nashville chief of CBS Songs, which swiftly became one of Nashville’s top three publishers. He formed his own music publishing company, Monk Family Music Group, in 1983. He took a leave of absence in 1988 to spearhead the return of Acuff-Rose Music to the upper echelons of the industry, becoming the first publisher to win both ASCAP and BMI “Most Performed Song of the Year” in the same year.
In 1983, Monk signed a singer-songwriter by the name of Randy Traywick—now known as Country Music Hall of Fame member Randy Travis. Other songwriters and artist-writers Monk signed include Marcus Hummon, Holly Dunn, Jim McBride, Keith Stegall, Aaron Tippin, Chris Waters and Chesney.
Songs Monk published have been recorded by Travis, Tippin, Lonestar, McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Tracy Lawrence, The Mavericks, Cheap Trick, Kenny Rogers, Sandi Patti, GlenCampbell, Otis Redding, Louise Mandrell, Trick Pony, Ike & Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, and John Michael Montgomery. Monk also saw his own written song recorded by artists including Jerry Reed, Eddy Arnold, Pat Boone, Mandrell, Jimmy Dean, Charley Pride, Angelo Badalamenti, Travis and Charlie Chase.
After a more than three-decade absence, Monk returned to radio in 2004 to help launch SiriusXM in Nashville, hosting the morning show on Willie’s Roadhouse, as well as a weekend music and interview show on SiriusXM’s Prime Country until 2022. Monk also served on numerous music organizations. He was an alumnus and board member of Leadership Music, a lifetime director of the Country Radio Broadcasters, and a member of the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, and the Gospel Music Association. He also served as vice president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, vice president of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, vice president of the Gospel Music Association and local president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Monk’s honors include induction into the Country Radio Hall of Fame, The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information SciencesHall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame. He received awards from the Alabama House and Senate, Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.,SESAC (1998 Publisher of the Year), BMI (Publisher for “Most Performed Song”) ASCAP (Publisher for “Most Performed Song”) and Nashville Songwriters Association International. Heearned a CLIO Award for commercial voice work, an Addy Award and awards and honors from the Mobile Press Register, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and theNashville Association of Talent Directors. In 2021, Monk became only the ninth recipient of the CMA’s Joe Talbot Award for “outstanding leadership and contributions to the preservation and advancement of Country Music’s values and traditions.”
A lifelong lover of University of Alabama football, Monk is survived by his wife of 63 years, Royce Walton Monk; Sons Charles, Jr. (Sukgi) and Collin (Grace); Daughters CapucineMonk and Camila Monk Perry (Scott); sisters in law Peggy Walton-Walker Lord (Larry) and Elsie Walton (Colin Hamilton); Grandchildren Sam (Christina), Nathan, Christabel, McKenna,Theodore, Ella, Walton & Douglas; Great-grandchildren Alexis and Sophia and nieces Clara and Linda and nephews Wayne, Brian and Chip.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to MusiCares, Community Care Fellowship, Calvary United Methodist Church, Rochelle Center or CreatiVets.
Wynonna will once again welcome a slate of her fellow artists and friends for the upcoming 2023 leg of The Judds: The Final Tour.
Ashley McBryde, Brandi Carlile, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town and Tanya Tucker will join her for select dates on the tour, while Martina McBride will return to open all upcoming tour dates. The Judds: The Final Tour dates for 2023, produced by Sandbox Live and Live Nation, will launch Jan. 26 in Hershey, Penn.
“What I can think of to say is that I am looking so forward to being out on the road again, and that I am absolutely thrilled to have my friends joining me for this next tour,” Wynonna said via a statement. “I’m so grateful to the fans that they want more, and I’m anxious to be with everybody again.”
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The country star opted to continue with the tour as a tribute following the death of her mother and musical partner Naomi Judd. The country legend died at age 76 on April 30, just one day before The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Judds: The Final Tour had been initially announced prior to Naomi’s passing.
Several of the artists chosen joining Wynonna on the tour previously joined her and her sister Ashley Judd to honor their late mother during a public memorial service that aired on CMT, and was held at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. McBride spoke during the memorial, while McBryde performed “Love Is Alive,” and Little Big Town delivered “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days).” During the service, Carlile teamed with Wynonna for a stirring rendition of “The Rose.”
One of the most successful duos in country music history, The Judds notched 14 No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Singles chart.
See the full list of The Judds: The Final Tour 2023 showdates below:
Jan. 26, 2023: Hershey, PA – Giant Center *Ashley McBryde
Jan. 28, 2023: Bridgeport, CT – Total Mortgage Arena *Ashley McBryde
Jan. 29, 2023: Worcester, MA – DCU Arena *Ashley McBryde
Feb. 2, 2023: Tulsa, OK – BOK Center *Kelsea Ballerini
Feb. 3, 2023: Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center *Kelsea Ballerini
Feb. 4, 2023: St. Louis, MO – Chaifetz Arena *Kelsea Ballerini
Feb. 9, 2023: Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center Omaha *Little Big Town
Feb. 10, 2023: Moline, IL – Vibrant Arena at THE MARK *Little Big Town
Feb. 11, 2023: Dayton, OH – Wright State University Nutter Center *Little Big Town
Feb. 16, 2023: Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena *Tanya Tucker
Feb. 17, 2023: Fairfax, VA – EagleBank Arena *Tanya Tucker
Feb. 18, 2023: Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum *Tanya Tucker
Feb. 23, 2023: Savannah, GA – Enmarket Arena *Brandi Carlile
Feb. 24, 2023: Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena *Brandi Carlile
Feb. 25, 2023: Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood *Brandi Carlile