Naomi Judd

Wynonna Judd Offers Powerful Piece of Advice 2 Months After Her Mom Died: ‘I'm a Judd, Not a Judge'

During Brandi Carlile's show in Nashville, the two broke out two of The Judds' hits from their 1984 album, "Why Not Me."

Wynonna Judd and Brandi Carlile perform onstage during CMT
Photo by Katie Kauss/Getty Images for CMT

Wynonna Judd is keeping her mother’s memory alive. 

More than two months after her mother Naomi Judd died on April 30 at age 76, the eldest of the two Judd siblings joined Brandi Carlile onstage in Nashville on Friday, July 8.

Carlile, who is in the midst of her "In These Silent Days Tour" across the United States, kicked off the first of two nights at the Ascend Amphitheater and treated fans to a couple of special performances with Judd by her side.

The duo gave fans a dose of nostalgia first with a cover of The Judds’ 1984 song, “Girls Night Out,” leading into "Love Is Alive." Before their second duet of the night though, Judd gave a touching speech as captured in a video shared on Instagram by Hunter Kelly, the host of PROUD Radio on Apple Music Country.

“For those of you who don’t know who I am — you’d be surprised — I’m the artist formerly known as The Judds,” she began. “Two months ago, my momma died and my sister is here tonight and we are now the new Judds … And I want to share something with you. I’m a Judd, not a judge, but I’m gonna tell you something. Forgiveness — call somebody and say ‘I’m sorry for my part, what can we do to heal?’ And that’s what we’re doing tonight.”

Judd dedicated the song to “anybody out there who is just really pissed off,” saying those feelings are "OK, because the music is gonna heal us right now." 

"That's why I came," she said. "... The music heals us and we’re gonna sing this next song in honor of my sister, because it’s been about 12 years since she’s seen me sing. It’s a beginning of some new chapter, so, what does your next chapter look like?”

Both Judd and Carlile shared clips of their duets on their Instagram Stories the next day. "The Story" singer didn't hide her excitement for their two-song duet, writing on an Instagram story, "Still can't believe this happened!"

These special duets didn’t mark the first time Judd and Carlile have performed together, either.

Back in May, Carlile participated in a touching musical memorial service for the matriarch of The Judds on CMT, “Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration.” Together, they sang “The Rose,” mirroring a duet between the late Naomi Judd and Bette Middler from decades prior. 

Judd will also be hitting the road this fall to carry out the tour that she and her mother had planned before Naomi's death.

“I made a decision and I thought I’d share it on national television,” she said during the CMT special. “That after a lot of thought, I’m going to have to honor her and do this tour. I’m just going to have to. Because that’s what you would want, and Bono once told me give them what they want, not what you want.”

“The Judds: The Final Tour” will kick off on September 30 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and run for 11 shows, with the final date taking place on October 29 in Lexington, Kentucky. 

On Instagram, the tour was referred to as “an epic, star-studded tribute and celebration of Naomi Judd.” The tour will have dates featuring guest appearances from Carlile, as well as Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and Ashley McBryde.

This article first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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