Wy and Naomi Tour Again

Country Music’s legendary duo, The Judds, delivered a riveting performance for over 10,000 fans in downtown Nashville as they launched this year’s 2010 CMA Music Festival. Wynonna and Naomi Judd helped kick off what USA Today calls “the crown jewel of Country Music festivals,” setting the stage for their highly anticipated final tour, The Judds: The Last Encore. It has been over 10 years since their 2000 “Power To Change” tour, and this final reunion promises to be nothing short of spectacular.

In typical fan-friendly Judd fashion, Wynonna and Naomi recently invited dedicated “Judd Heads” and country music fans across the country to name their upcoming tour in The Judds “Name That Tour” contest. The response was overwhelming. Thousands of fans jumped at the opportunity to solidify their place in Judds HERstory and ultimately Jacqualine Budgell from Murfreesboro, TN was chosen as the lucky winner.

According to Naomi, The Last Encore tour is an opportunity to celebrate the relationship with their fans one last time. “There is nothing like music and laughter to connect people,” she says. “How I’ve missed that encounter with the very ones who’ve allowed us that awesome privilege! I’m counting the days till I can be back on my bus, visiting their towns.”

In addition to their enduring 26-year relationship with the fans, Wynonna shares her sentiment on reuniting with her mother, Naomi, again. “This tour gives me a chance to enjoy where Mom and I are in our relationship. I look forward to celebrating our personal and professional journey…together.” And, for the fans who have followed their journey together through the years, this final curtain call will be yet another reason to celebrate.

The tour will kick off on November 26, the day after Thanksgiving, in Green Bay, Wisconsin and will continue on to their home state of Kentucky with a play in Louisville alongside dates in Salt Lake City, UT, Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV. The Judds will close their final tour with a full circle moment in Phoenix, AZ where their 2000 “Power To Change” tour began. The Judds: The Last Encore tour will feature new Judds and Wynonna music from the upcoming album while also shining a bright light on all of the fan’s Judds and Wynonna favorites. And for the first time ever, they will also celebrate the holiday season during their final tour by weaving several classic Christmas songs in their immensely diverse set list.

The Judds agent, Greg Oswald, of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment shares “The Judds have been a major force on the arena level now for three consecutive decades. The response from buyers when we made The Last Encore show available was overwhelming. So many offers and not enough time to do them all!”

And, it wasn’t just concert promoters who jumped at the chance to offer an up close and personal evening with The Judds. The Judds’ friends at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital also wanted to share in the excitement by partnering with the darlings of Country Music. For more than two decades, the country music industry has generously supported the organization through fundraising and personal relationships. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance, so no child is ever denied treatment because of their family’s inability to pay. The ongoing relationship between St. Jude and The Judds prompted the girls to include and honor the work of St. Jude on their final tour.

The Judds: The Last Encore Tour will visit the following cities:

11/26 – Green Bay WI – Resch Center
11/27 – Mt. Pleasant, MI – Soaring Eagle Casino
11/28 – Moline, IL – i wireless Center
11/30 – Prior Lake, MN – Mystic Lake Casino
12/2 – Columbus, OH – Value City Arena – Schottenstein Center
12/3 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
12/4 – St. Charles, MO – Family Arena
12/5 – Council Bluffs, IA – Mid-America Center
12/7 – Colorado Springs, CO – World Arena
12/8 – Broomfield, CO – 1STBank Center
12/9 – Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
12/11 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
12/12 – Sacramento, CA – Arco Arena
12/15 – Los Angeles, CA – Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
12/16 – Santa Ynez, CA – Chumash Casino
12/17 – Rancho Mirage, CA – Agua Caliente Casino
12/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Mandalay Bay Events Center/Arena
12/19 – Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center

About The Judds
Kentucky natives, The Judds, are one of the most successful country music duos of all time – amassing fourteen number-one hits and over 60 industry awards including multiple CMA, ACM and GRAMMY awards. After launching their career with RCA Records in 1984, The Judds sold 20 million albums in just 6 short years. By 1989, The Judds were one of the top-grossing and most popular touring acts in America. But at the height of their career, Naomi Judd announced she would have to retire from the music business due to health complications. To say goodbye to their fans, they launched the 116-city Judds Farewell Tour selling more concert tickets than anyone that year with the exception of The Grateful Dead and The Rolling Stones. Nearly ten years after her health turned around, the pair reunited on Dec. 31, 1999 for a New Year’s gala performance, and a reunion tour in 2000. They came together again at last year’s 2009 CMA Music Festival and captivated the massive audience with their homespun, acoustic harmonies that felt as revelatory as they did when they first shot onto the country music scene 26 years ago. Encouraged by that performance and driven by the fans, the duo decided to tour one last time for 2010’s The Judds: The Last Encore.

NASHVILLE – May 28, 2009 – Music superstar Big Kenny¸ of the multi-platinum duo Big & Rich, and Big Machine Records’ President and CEO Scott Borchetta will join Naomi Judd as judges on the second season of CMT’s, CAN YOU DUET.  Hosted by Lance Smith, the weekly music competition series from “American Idol” producers FremantleMedia North America is looking to find country music’s next great duo and award them a record deal with Big Machine Records.

Borchetta, Kenny (top), Smith, and Judd Host new "Duet"

Best known as one half of country megastars Big & Rich, Big Kenny was a solo artist before joining John Rich to create Big & Rich in 2003 and together they signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. From their first studio album, came the duo’s signature song “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy),” as well as three other top 40 singles. In 2005, the duo released “Comin’ To Your City” and added another top-20 single and two other top-40 songs to their roster. The duo’s third studio album, “Between Hell and Amazing Grace,” produced their first Number One single, the wedding ballad “Lost in This Moment.” Big Kenny recently took time away from music to document his visit to Sudan, which debuted at the Nashville Film Festival last year.

Scott Borchetta recently accepted the 2009 Academy of Country Music Award for executive producing “Fearless,” the ACM Album of the Year from Taylor Swift.  For years, Borchetta has been the driving force behind the some of music’s most successful careers.  He is currently known for his position as the founder and CEO of Big Machine Records, which he opened in 2005.   In three short years the label has accomplished unprecedented success.  Under Borchetta’s leadership, Big Machine Records has become the #1 selling country music label, with artist Taylor Swift ending 2008 as the highest selling artist across all genres.

Prior to starting Big Machine Records, Borchetta was Senior Vice President of Promotion & Artist Development for all three of Universal Music Group’s country imprints: DreamWorks, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville. During his tenure at UMG, Borchetta was instrumental in the careers of George Strait, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna, Toby Keith, Darryl Worley, Jimmy Wayne, Jessica Andrews and Randy Travis. 

In addition to Swift, Big Machine Records’ current artist roster includes Trisha Yearwood, Jack Ingram, Sunny Sweeney, Adam Gregory and season one CAN YOU DUET finalists Kate & Kacey. In 2007, Big Machine Records became the exclusive radio promoter for Garth Brooks’ new music and the two made history with his new single “More Than a Memory,” when Brooks became the first artist in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart, making him the highest Country debut leader of all time.

Unlike other talent competition shows, each contestant on CAN YOU DUET will compete as part of a duo, sometimes working with different partners as the competition progresses.  As a result, viewers will witness first-hand all the on and off-stage drama to be had in creating a dynamic musical duo.  In addition critiquing each performance, the three judges will decide who will advance to the next round, be sent home, and ultimately be crowned country music’s next great duo.

CAN YOU DUET is produced by FremantleMedia North America.  Jeff Boggs (Nashville Star, Spy TV) and Borchetta are executive producers.  Bob Kusbit, John Hamlin and Melanie Moreau serve as executive producers for CMT.