Wynonna Hits the Road for Back-to-Back Tours
After touring for 34 years, Wynonna still knows how to mix things up on the road. For the country icon, it’s all about a balance of pushing the envelope while also staying true to her roots.
“The new sound is so simple and so pure,” she told Rolling Stone Country earlier this year about music that will appear on her next album, which she’s already testing out in her live shows. “I’m playing instruments on stage that I started playing when I was nine. I’ve never done that in my whole career. So it’s a time of going back to the well and starting over. This album is going to be the highest of the high to the lowest of the valley-of-the-shadow-of-death sadness. Mournful, raw, primal sounds that come from the guts of music.”
She’ll spill those guts on a new tour in 2015, with her three-piece band, the Big Noise, led by husband Cactus Moser. The Wynonna and Friends: Stories & Song Tour will kick off January 14th in Durham, North Carolina, hitting more than two dozen cities before wrapping March 8th in Boston. The tour’s name reflects Mrs. Judd’s performing style: treating the audience like guests in her living room, chatting about the true – and oftentimes humorous — stories behind her hits.
“I’m an ordinary woman that extraordinary things have happened to because I choose to continue to suit up and show up where I am called,” Wynonna shares in a press statement. “I am more passionate now than I have ever been about my life, my gift, my faith, hopes and dreams, and I want so much to share my story and my songs with my fans. I have experienced so many personal and professional highs and lows on this journey, and having been on the road for 34 years now, I am so grateful for the wisdom and experience I have gained throughout all that has happened on and off stage.”
The singer has less than a two-week break before her 2015 tour, as she will embark on her annual holiday trek this December. The A Simpler Christmas Tour, also featuring the Big Noise, begins December 3rd in Springfield, Ohio, and runs through January 2nd. She’ll combine festive tunes with her biggest hits for these shows, aiming to provide a little holiday stress relief for concertgoers.
“It’s so easy to get caught up in the perfectionism and the expectations that this time of the year often brings,” she says. “My hope is that people can come to the show, forget about their ‘to do’ list and, for the time we are together, simply enjoy themselves.”
See a full list of cities and dates for both tours below.
Wynonna’s A Simpler Christmas Tour dates:
December 3rd — Springfield, Ohio
December 4th — Owensboro, Kentucky
December 5th — Glasgow, Kentucky
December 6th — Danville, Kentucky
December 7th — Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
December 10th — Fort Myers, Florida
December 11th — Fort Pierce, Florida
December 14th — Jacksonville, Florida
December 18th — Kalamazoo, Michigan
December 19th — Morgantown, West Virginia
December 20th — Virginia Beach, Virginia
December 21st — Newberry, South Carolina
December 31st — Telluride, Colorado
January 2nd — Billings, Montana
Wynonna and Friends: Stories & Songs Tour dates:
January 14th — Durham, North Carolina
January 15th — Alexandria, Virginia
January 16th — Ashland, Kentucky
January 17th — Louisville, Kentucky
January 23rd — Fayetteville, North Carolina
January 24th —Franklin, North Carolina
January 28th — Chicago
January 29th — Wabash, Indiana
January 30th — Youngstown, Ohio
January 31st — Merrillville, Indiana
February 6th — Boise, Idaho
February 7th — Lewiston, Idaho
February 10th — Paradise, California
February 12th — Campbell, California
February 13th — Vacaville, California
February 14th — La Mirada, California
February 16th —Beaver Creek, Colorado
February 19th — Salina, Kansas
February 20th — Arlington, Texas
February 26th — Lancaster, Pennsylvania
February 27th — Westbury, New York
February 28th — Verona, New York
March 1st — Annapolis, Maryland
March 5th — Williamsport, Pennsylvania
March 6th — Ridgefield, Connecticut
March 7th — Niagara Falls, New York
March 8th — Boston