Brandi Carlile shared a heartfelt message about The Judds as she prepares to join Wynonna Judd on the road. Wynonna confirmed this week that âThe Final Tourâ will continue in honor of her mother and duo partner, Naomi. Naomi unexpectedly died on April 30. She was 76.
Carlile is one of several iconic artists to join Wynonna on âThe Final Tour,â which has transformed into âthe ultimate girls night outâ with appearances by Martina McBride, Ashley McBryde, Little Big Town, Trisha Yearwood and Faith Hill, among others who have yet to be announced.
It seems to mark full-circle moment for Carlile, who took to Instagram with a lengthy reflection of her longtime fandom of The Judds. The mother-daughter duo was Carlileâs first concert (and second and third) at age 7. Naomiâs death was heartbreaking for Carlile, who âalways felt like I knew Naomi and Wynonna somehow, right along side the rest of the world.â Carlile said sheâll never find the words to express the honor she feels, joining Wynonna on âThe Final Tour.â
The âRight On Timeâ artist posted a throwback picture with her mom, along with a photo with Wynonna from Naomiâs public memorial service at the historic Ryman Auditorium. See Carlileâs post below. She wrote in her caption:
âWhen I was 7 years old, The Judds were my first concertâŠthen they were my second and then my third as well. I wore a Judds Jean jacket in elementary school with an iron-on patch that my Grandmother stuck onto the back. I was heartbroken on April 30th when the world lost a brilliant and complicated matriarch in Naomi⊠Iâve always felt like I knew Naomi and Wynonna somehow, right along side the rest of the world. The Judds are in all of our families. The Judds gave me a language and a way to connect to my own mother, no matter how different we were and are.
âI have been asked to sing with my hero Wynonna Judd on the very last ever Judds tour to honor her ubiquitous contribution to country music and to honor her mother - itâs an honor so surreal Iâll never find the right words.
âIâm gonna do my best to show up to this thing as a 40 year old woman - but I canât promise that the girl in this picture wonât be the one standing next to WynonnaâŠand you can be damn sure Iâm gonna bring my mom.
âNo matter how rock and roll my heart is, itâll always be Rockinâ With The Rhythm Of The RainâŠ
âThank you to everyone that made this possible for me. and thank you to Naomi and Wynonna for starting the dream.â