Superstar brings powerful personal message to Las Vegas Strip

Wynonna Judd can sing, we know that. But she is also a story-teller, one with a lot of story to tell.

“I give a lot of myself. It’s not just a performance,” Judd says as she plays The Venetian Theatre at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. “I don’t go out there and just try to hit the notes as much as I try to connect. I think that’s my my age, and my experience.”

The two-show stop is billed as a greatest-hits performance is at the heels of Judd’s “Greatest Hits Tour.” We can expect “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Why Not Me,” “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days),” “Girls Night Out” from her days with her late mother, Naomi, in The Judds.

The 61-year-old Judd has opened with the solo favorite, “Saw The Light,” and also performs the top-selling “No One Else on Earth” to close.

Judd says the holiday season, and the closing of a massive U.S. tour, has her feeling especially emotional.

”I just feel everything, from the light to the dark to the funny, to the tears,” Judd says. “I’m just really full of gratitude, and I think it’s because of the time of year, plus the fact that I’ve worked so hard this year, and I’m just coming out of a huge tour. Oh my gosh, I don’t know how we did that.”

Judd headlined 23 dates in her first greatest-hits tour from June through September, covering La Grange, Georgia, through Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Las Vegas is especially nostalgic. The Judds date to 1984, opening for Merle Haggard at the great Circus Maximus showroom at Caesars Palace.

“I wasn’t even old enough to drink, and here I am in Las Vegas.” Judd says. “They gave you what’s called an ‘allowance,’ so you got like $250 worth of free food. I used to think that was the greatest thing on the planet, free room service. To this day I remember being 20 years old, absolutely green, no idea what was going on in the world of show business.”

One night Haggard called out of the show, late. The Judds filled the night.

“We had to do our songs twice, because we only had a mini-LP at the time,” Judd says, laughing. “I remember going on stage and having to sing and talk and figure out a way to, you know, make it an hour when we didn’t have an hour’s worth of material.”

Judd talks of her late mother, who died of suicide in April 2022. Judd has been an advocate for mental-health issues and has shared her struggles while continuing her solo career.

“It depends on the moment, my darling, where I am in my life, in that day, in that moment,” Judd says when asked about coping with her mother’s death. “Sometimes it’s a funny story, and sometimes I’m crying from my toenails. I just don’t know, it comes up in waves and it overtakes me.”

Judd says she relates to her fans directly and honestly.

“My fans grew up with me. So I think the people know me and trust me enough to know that I’m not just using it for banter, that I’m absolutely one of those people that has been touched by suicide,” Judd says. “I have to realize that it’s a personal thing, and yes, I’m famous and I’m doing a show and it’s going to be glitter and all that shines. But it’s also a moment for me to talk to people, because some of them have gone through that as well.”

Her mission is to leave the audience with a deeper knowledge of who she is as an an artist, and person.

“I do feel a responsibility, in a way, to just tell it like it is, to keep it real,” Judd says. “I need to connect with people on a level that’s deeper than just buying records and T shirts. That’s my hope for Vegas because I have played there so many times. It’s not just, ‘Hey, I’m here to play Vegas and get some room service.’ I’m here because I’m supposed to be.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.