GOING BACK TO HER ROOTS

Despite, or maybe because of, her years as one half of country duo The Judds mother Naomi is the other Wynonna Judd is fiercely independent, resolutely determined to persue her own dream in her own way.

Following the demise of the duo, due to Naomi s ill health, Wynonna signed to Curb and began her solo career. Her self-titled debut and the follow-up Tell Me Why were both successful outings spawning hit singles, earning critical respect and helping her create an identity of her own.
Since that time she has explored many aspects of her musical muse and developed her emotive voice with depth and maturity, even as country radio s ever decreasing circle of acceptability begins to favour blander, more formulaic music.
Wynonna Judd grew up listening to bluegrass and the Grand Ole Oprey on the radio but now she has a devotion to the blues and to that side of her nature.
I m very autobiographical, she reflects. Sometimes I m light and acoustic, but other times I m deep and heavy and mournful. As a result, I m becoming more spiritual and less mainstream or commercial. So much so, indeed, that she suggests that the next two albums she makes could be, respectively, of the gospel and blues variety.
Having spent the past eighteen years on the road half her life, as she points out she is disenchanted with what she sees going on in the world of music. That s why she is taking time out to consider something really different . She wants to get back to a rawer place and strip the music back to its emotional core.
I ve been through a lot in the last five years, she says, but I want to celebrate with the next album.
She is also hoping to write some songs herself; as a single mother with two young children finding the space and time to write has been a problem in the past.
Although pleased to celebrate the success of peers like Shania Twain and Faith Hill, Wynonna despairs at the current state of music radio.
There s a lot of greed in the world and we all want to crank out one success after another, she observes, and in that confusion a lot of artists, like myself, are being overlooked because of all the new music that s coming out. And we re not paying tribute to our elders, either.
Judd is convinced that many of the fans are looking for something more rootsy.
Radio is like a club, but one that has forgotten about the people, she says. Once those fans start to walk away, and radio realises that, they will start to listen to the people again.
Wynonna is especially looking forward to the Irish part of her European visit. The Judds played here in the late 80s at the National Stadium, and even then Wynonna felt a strong affinity with the country. She is also fascinated with Irish traditional music. But when you suggest that expanding a fan base in Europe could be an astute move right now, she dismisses that notion.
I wish I could be driven more by ambitions and business, but I m more of a people person, I love the human experience, she says. The idea of being in Ireland and meeting people for whom my music has anything to do with their lives, that s worth the trip, right there!
The show she is bringing here will include some acoustic songs as well as the more full-on material, courtesy of her regular band and what she calls her soulful back-up vocalists. So expect a little gospel, a little country, some down and dirty blues and even an accapella number or two.
I m singing better now than at any other time of my life, says Wynonna Judd. I m in a place where I m feeling happy.
Wynonna Judd plays Vicar Street, Dublin on September 1st.