Wynonna Judd • September 25, 2024 • Sandy Amphitheater
Reviewed and Photographed by Kevin Rolfe
We recently had the opportunity to attend a Lainey Wilson concert out at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre. It was a fun night filled with the excitement of a Country Music star shooting up into the stratosphere of that genre. This was the biggest tour Lainey had played to date and for many, myself included, it was the first time they had the opportunity to see the fast-rising star. Just a couple of weeks later we had the opportunity to take in a show and see the Country Music world from a different perspective. We stepped into the Sandy Amphitheater to see one of Country Music’s biggest legends, Wynonna Judd.
Wynonna has been a staple in the Country scene for over thirty years, first as a duo with her mother, Naomi Judd in The Judds and then with her lengthy solo career. That’s when I first came to know Wynonna. I was introduced to her by a friend who was a fanatic of Country Music. I was given a brief history of The Judds and then told that I needed to listen to Wynonna’s recently self-titled debut solo album. At the time, growing up in a suburb of Los Angeles, I was not a huge fan of Country. But I was willing to give it a listen. I liked it. I have that entire first album memorized. Wynonna Judd was the first Country concert I ever saw. I caught her on the Black and Wy Tour. A tour where she stole the show supporting Clint Black.
When I heard Wynonna would be playing her Wynonna and Tell Me Why albums straight through on this tour, I knew I had to be there. It felt fitting that she would take things back to the start of her solo career on this tour. Wynonna has been through quite a bit in her life. But specifically losing her mother, Naomi to suicide back in 2022. In a sense, she’s going back out solo again without her mother as she did when these albums were released. It was a trip down memory lane and a reminder of just how resilient and amazing Wynonna Judd has been.
Wynonna
Wynonna walked on stage with a standing ovation to greet her. It was pretty exciting to see her right there in front of us. She seemed in great spirits. The interesting thing that happens when you see a concert where the artist plays an iconic album in order is you’ll usually get hit songs earlier in the show than you might otherwise. I can never decide if I like it or not. I’m definitely not used to it. But it is a cool way to change up the setlist because the artist was adhering to the album tracklist. This was the case with Wynonna.
Following “What It Takes”, the second song of the entire evening was “She Is His Only Need”, Wynonna’s first number-one hit. I love this song. It’s Country Music storytelling at its finest. It’s easy to visualize each character in the song. And to feel their story in a deep way. Some fans in the front row held up a sign. Wynonna was distracted trying to read it. She gave the fans a hard time. “You made me forget the words. First row, thank you! You’re really proud of yourself aren’t you?” Judd laughed with the fans. It was a fun interaction but I’m glad they didn’t distract her any further.
“I Saw The Light” followed and the audience was up on their feet dancing. Another number-one hit that was played so early. It was exciting to hear these songs knowing we had so much more of the show left. During this song, I noticed how talented the band was. Led by Wynonna’s husband, Scott “Cactus” Moser, on drums, who had some really fun banter with Judd throughout the show.
Wynonna shared that she was here to represent 80s and 90s Country. Moser followed her comment by saying “For the people of the amazing state of Utah… You’re the Queen of 80s and 90s Country. No arguments!”. Wynonna followed by saying, “I’m still here. By the grace of God. And that fact that the fans believe in me more than I even believe in myself. For the fans who are here for the first time, well it’s about time. Those who have been with me through this whole journey, I could not have made it without you. And that’s the absolute truth. And there’s a guy sitting with binoculars back there. It’s real. It’s not perfect but it’s real. So these songs saved my life. I went out on my own and I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not. And you were there.”
Wynonna’s stories along with these classic songs made for a perfectly blended evening. Judd shared experiences putting together this debut solo album. She told us she picked a song in particular. Judd shared that she was told that she was “A little too Rock N Roll.”. She told them “Well, what are you gonna do about it?” The audience cheered their approval. Cactus Moser started to count in the song and Wynonna stopped him by saying “Not yet. I’m not done. Mamma’s talking”. It was a pretty funny moment between them.
Wynonna then gave us some life advice. “Now this is confidence not arrogance. ‘Follow Your Gut, No Matter What.’” The crowd cheered. “Because here’s the deal. I knew in my spirit that I needed to rock. And I’ll tell you what, this turned out to be the biggest song I’ve ever had in my life. So there you go. Follow Your Gut No Matter What.” Moser then counted in the band and they began to play, “No One Else On Earth”. The audience once again rose to their feet and really got into yet another Wynonna Judd number-one hit song. People were dancing, clapping, and having a great time. This was the final show of the season for Sandy Amphitheater. I think Wynonna and the crowd were determined to send the season out with a bang!
Wynonna is a triumph in Judd’s career. There are not too many artists who can go solo after having so much success in a band and have that career be equally or even more successful. It was a lot of fun to see the song in order. I enjoyed getting nostalgic about when I heard the songs for the first time. Wynonna sounded great after all this time.
Before Wynonna left for an intermission she played a brief acoustic set of songs she performed with her mom in The Judds. The crowd was beyond thrilled about this. She started with “Love Is Alive”. She sounded incredible during this song. The audience lit up the amphitheater with their phone lights. One of the biggest audience roars came when the intro to “Grandpa, (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Old Days). Wynonna expressed “Ok, this is my favorite one”. I loved that she included these songs in the set. It was clear that I wasn’t the only one. I didn’t expect to hear any Judds songs. I’m not sure anyone did. It was a perfect way to end the first set.
Tell Me Why
The lights dimmed and people rushed back to their seats. I think people knew that they couldn’t miss the beginning of this set. Because the first song on Tell Me Why is the hit song of the same name. Another huge 90s hit for Judd. This set was off to a great start.
Wynonna told us, “When I come out here on this stage I live my dreams. I love being with people. When I’m home I’m on the farm raising my 40 animals. My husband and I are raising a two-year-old (granddaughter). We have normal life at home. But out here on the road, I feel like a queen. Thank you!” She followed this with a beautiful rendition of “Only Love”.
One of the biggest highlights of this set was “Is It Over Yet” where Wynonna told a story about performing that song with a full orchestra at the CMAs. Another was “Girls With Guitars”. It’s such a fun song that I know inspired many women guitarists. There were a lot of women in the audience playing their air guitars and singing every word.
In what might be the most random moment I’ve had in concert history, Wynonna decided to do the pledge of allegiance. She started and everyone with a hat took it off and everyone had their right hand over their heart and joined in. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was a unifying moment for sure.
Wynonna left the stage briefly because the audience was not ready for her to go. She played a couple more songs for us. “Why Not Me” had the audience dancing away one last time. Now that she had finished the songs off of her first two albums it was fun to hear another big hit from later in her career.
The night came to a touching close as Wynonna thanked the Lord for Utah and for good people. She then played “Love Can Build A Bridge”. This song brought a lot of tears to the audience. This song must mean so many different things to so many people. It seemed to resonate with the crowd. Wynonna gave us a moment to sing the chorus on our own. It was a perfect way to close the concert. Sandy Amphitheater has been a wonderful place to see a concert this summer. And seeing Wynonna there to close out the season with these two albums, and with some gems from The Judds was the right way to go out. Wynonna is an excellent live performer.