Memory of the Judds' 'Final' tour offers healing and 'legacy-defining moments'

A month has passed since the last of 26 dates where Martina McBride, alongside Kelsea Ballerini, Brandi Carlile, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood, aided Wynonna Judd in celebrating the legacy of her pairing with her mother, Naomi, who died on April 30, 2022 — a day before the legendary mother-daughter duo's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

For McBride and Hunter Kelly, an Apple Music Radio personality and host of the channel's Judds legacy-honoring "Neon Songbook" program, the last year has been a fulfilling, if not surreal, journey.

In a press release about the tour, before her passing, Naomi stated: "I'm chompin' at the bit to belt out our hits and reconnect with them once again. The cherry on top is singing with my beloved, wild and extremely talented daughter … the best singer of any genre, Wynonna! She asked me if I was still going to twist, twirl and crack jokes. I answered, 'Heck yeah! I'm too old to grow up now.'"

On May 18, 2022, Wynonna announced to a live Ryman Auditorium crowd and a worldwide CMT audience that she was continuing a previously scheduled nationwide tour.

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine … the show must go on, as hard as it may be," she stated.

Larry Strickland, Naomi's husband, added, "I am so happy that in this time of grief for us all, Wynonna has agreed to move forward with this tour as my sweet wife, Naomi, would have wanted her to do."

Five months later, in an October interview, Wynonna offered that the concerts were "healing [her], one show at a time because her fans and friends were "[there] for her" and balancing her "between hell and hallelujah."

For Kelly, witnessing Wynonna experiencing what he tells The Tennessean is "grief in real-time" was fascinating in that he — while pulling together various pieces of the Judds' legacy for Apple Music Radio — read Naomi Judd's 2017-published book, "River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged With Hope."

Lessons learned from his study applied well to providing context for the events that transpired.

"There's a sense of relief that [Naomi] was no longer struggling, but — even in knowing her as a fan and a friend — the toll it'd taken on Wynonna was entirely unknown," Kelly says.

"I hate how we got to this tour," he says about the dates announced 19 days before Naomi's death. "But because of the tour, Wynonna is set up to fully emerge as not a hokey artist who was once, alongside her mother, turned down by every label in [Nashville]. Now she gets to remain a powerful voice in country and popular music."

McBride served as the opening act on 25 of 26 concerts

"Supporting Wynonna by helping her provide joy (via the concerts) during what was an emotional, honest, special and vulnerable time for her was important," McBride told The Tennessean.

"On some nights, it was me, Wynonna and Tanya Tucker on the same stage. I still can't believe that happened."

The bond forged between Wynonna and her tourmates is described by McBride as a "rising up to the occasion" to "being blessed to support someone so experienced, wise and giving of tough love."

Judd and McBride were friends in passing during their shared mid-1990s career heyday.

Intriguingly, the pair once crossed paths on the Billboard chart.

In March 1996, McBride hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart with "Wild Angels." One month later, Wynonna also achieved chart-topping status with "To Be Loved By You.

Twenty-five years later, the pair of "extroverted introverts" as McBride refers to herself and Wynonna joined forces for the Judds' tour dates.

"Eventually, one night, Wynonna reached out and held my hand and told me she loved me. That meant so much. I can easily say we left this tour as solid friends."

McBride adds that the "undeniably soulful" qualities retained by Wynonna's voice ("one of the best singers we've ever had") over four decades when blended with the quality of the songs that her voice sang — like her favorite, "Mama He's Crazy," the Kenny O'Dell-written and Brent Maher-produced 1984 hit she often sang when developing as an artist in the Midwest — remained a constant show-stealer.

"The Judds recorded extraordinarily good, well-crafted music reflecting incredible skill from all parties involved," says Kelly, whose seatmate during the Bridgestone Arena tour date was none other than Maher, the frequent producer of the Judds' collection of 14 No. 1 hits between 1984-1989.

During the Oct. 28 Judds concert date at Bridgestone, The Tennessean noted the following about Wynonna's performance of "Mama He's Crazy."

"['Mama He's Crazy'] turned into a full acapella singalong that included Judd hitting a note of such length and power that it compared to live versions of Ronnie Dunn hitting the final high note on Brooks and Dunn's 'Neon Moon.' Wynonna sang it, then she dropped the microphone, asserting her own belief of the excellence of her performance on not just that song but the evening in full."

Kelly adds that the dynamic qualities associated with the Judds' songbook, plus the voices present to perform it on tour — McBride's included — aids country music's "creative intelligence and sophistication" being celebrated as the most significant aspect of the Judds showcase run.

"Every date was a gift where we were all — especially Wynonna — showered with love," says McBride.

Concerning the tour Wynonna stated: "It's not about show business. This is a celebration of life, as well as people going through their own stuff while listening to the songs of what they went through."

Adds Kelly: "I dreamed that Wynonna would be able to present the breadth of the transcendental creativity of her own plus she and Naomi's catalog in front of sold-out arenas. That's where it belongs to be celebrated and having it's legacy-defining moment."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Judds tour offers healing and 'legacy-defining moments'