Wynonna Judd is currently performing shows on The Judds: The Final Tour, forwhich she was originally supposed to be accompanied by her mom, Naomi, whodied in April at 76 following a long struggle with mental health.
Now, she’s courageously braving the stage without the mother-daughter duo’sother half for 10 concerts through the end of October, though it won’t beeasy. “This is my opportunity to step into a situation that I don’t know thatI am ready to do what I’m about to do, but I think it’s going to heal me,”Judd tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
“I’m teaching what I want to learn, which is how to have peace and joy in areally negative [time],” the country musician, 58, explains. “I want people toknow that they’re loved. I want people to know that there’s hope.”
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Wynonna Judd Rollout
Jim Wright Wynonna Judd
Luckily, she isn’t alone on the road, as Martina McBride serves as the tour’sopening act and joins Judd onstage each night for a performance of the 1984hit, “Girls Night Out.” Given the gloomy circumstances, the 56-year-oldsinger-songwriter isn’t taking the role lightly. “I was so honored to be askedin the first place,” McBride tells PEOPLE. “I think it’s going to be a verymoving experience for the fans.”
A longtime fan of The Judds, McBride recalls singing “Mama He’s Crazy” withher dad Daryl Schiff’s band as a teenager. “They’re iconic,” she says of theduo, noting that she now sees Judd as a “symbol of strength.”
“When I think of Wynonna, that’s what I think of — a strong person,” addsMcBride.
RELATED: Naomi Judd Remembered by Fellow Country Stars Following Her> Death at 76: ‘Heartbreaking News’
Additionally, Judd’s joined by a different country act on each night of thetour, with the guests including Ashley McBryde, Little Big Town, KelseaBallerini, Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood.
“Like most girls my age in the ’80s, I sang along with the radio and knewevery Judds song. If I couldn’t hit those Wynonna high notes, I could dropdown into that sweet Naomi harmony and sing along,” Yearwood, 58, tellsPEOPLE. “The Judds are such an important part of country music history, and ofmy life. I’m honored to be able to join Wy and help her finish this journey tohonor the Judds and Naomi.”
Story continues
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Jim Wright Wynonna Judd on the cover of PEOPLE
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Since Naomi’s death, Judd has spent time feeling sadness and disbelief towardthe loss, but she doesn’t want to sit in the dark feelings. “Am I going to gohome and just get depressed and down, and stay stuck in that?” she says. “Isigned on for this tour because it’s like, ‘I gotta do something.'”
Despite the understandable difficulty of embarking on the tour less than sixmonths after losing her mother, Judd is ready to take a leap of faith andperform. “I’m looking forward to showing up and walking out onstage,” shesays, likening her “terrifying jitters” to those felt while preparing to walkdown the wedding aisle.
“You’re terrified to say, ‘I do,’ in front of everybody, but you do, and youfeel this, ‘Ahh,’ and you just feel the good stuff. I’m ready to feel the goodstuff,” explains Judd. “I’m going to walk out on that stage like I know whatI’m doing. [The crowd is] going to buy it, or at least some of them will. I’mexcited about that.”
Watch the full episode of People Cover Story: Wynonna Judd below or on thePeopleTV app.
The concerts provide Judd with the opportunity to honor Naomi’s legacy, whichshe plans to do by performing songs written by her late mother, including1989’s “Guardian Angels.”
“There’s a line in that song that says, ‘Elijah was a farmer. He knew how tomake things grow,'” she details, noting that Elijah was the name of her”great, great, great grandfather,” whom she named her 27-year-old son after.”[In the song,] she says, ‘I can hear him whispering to me, ‘Hard work neverdid a body harm,” meaning that it’s really good to work hard because at theend of the day, you’re too tired to be depressed or lonely. “
RELATED: At Stirring Tribute to Mom Naomi Judd, Wynonna Announces Tour> Will Go On: ‘That’s What She Would Want’
Reminiscing on a favorite memory of time spent with Naomi, Judd recalls asweet moment they shared before a performance. “We have it all. We have [six]Grammys. We have millions of records sold. We have everything, and she’s inher sparkly, queen-of-everything outfit,” says the musician. “She takes myhand, and she says, ‘Because of you, my life has been better.’ I’ll neverforget that.”
Wynonna Judd Rollout
Jim Wright Wynonna Judd
Looking back on times like those help Judd to process the negative feelingsthat’ve followed Naomi’s death.
“Somebody said, ‘Are you angry?’ I said, “Hell, yeah. I’m angry. Mygranddaughter was born 12 days before she left. I have anger,” but then Irealized after the compassion and all the pieces, that there’s some real joythere and to celebrate the joy as much as I can,” Judd says. “That’s part ofthe reason I’m doing the tour.”
_For all the details on Wynonna Judd ‘s journey through grief, pick up thelatest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday. _
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis TextLine at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org .
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to theCrisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.