Wynonna...My Country Cousin!

First, let me defend myself from all of the critics of country music by saying that I enjoy listening to all kinds of music. It just depends on the mood I'm in as to what I choose to listen to at the moment AND besides I like country music.

Okay having said that I have been a fan of The Judd's from the beginning. They are awesome and I love their songs. Like so many people, I was saddened when Naomi fell ill and The Judd's as we knew them, ceased to be. Wynonna decided to pursue a solo career and away she went; She found success as a solo artist too. I love her music so you can imagine how excited I was last year (2007) to find out that she would be doing a concert so close to home in Wendover, Nevada. Wendover is about 300 miles from Pocatello but that's seems close considering she wasn't doing a concert in Idaho. I told my friend Sandy (who doesn't like country music) and immediately booked tickets and I was lucky enough to get floor seats. That concert was amazing. I was starstruck. I couldn't stop smiling and Wynonna and I conversed throughout the show and I had a blast! Sandy enjoyed the show too. After the concert I got to meet her and we chatted for a few minutes. It was a lot of fun. I first met The Judd's in 1991. I had a picture of that meeting with me and Wynonna was struck with how young we looked.

I was happy to learn that Wynonna was returning to Wendover as part of her 2008 Christmas Tour this winter. I was online bright and early on the day that tickets went on sale and managed to get floor seats again in the third row. I was thrilled. I kept trying to talk my mom into going with us but she was undecided and not sure if it would work for her. Tickets started to sell and it didn't seem like it was going to be for my mom and Jamie to go with us. In the mean time Sandy and I seperately entered a contest through Wynonna's fan club to win tickets. A week before the concert they called Sandy and told her that she had won the package... Wait a minute...Who's the fan here anyway? I was excited that Sandy won the package because that is neat for her. She generously gave the tickets to my Mom, Jamie, and Christy.

So, My Mom, Jamie, and Christy drove to Wendover together from Twin Falls and Sandy and I went through Salt Lake City. When we first got to Wendover Sandy and I went to pick up the "free" tickets at will call. Wynonna hadn't given her guest list to the ticket booth yet so they had no accounting of us even coming for the show. That caused a little anxiety because we had invited people to go with us and now the ticket seller was telling us they didn't even have a list with our names on it. In fact she didn't even have a list. Soon enough Wynonna gave them her guest list, Sandy's name was on it, and we were set. My mom had a second row seat and sat right in front of us, and Christy and Jamie were not far behind us. After securing the tickets we went to the hotel to get ready for the evening, went to dinner, and then returned to the Concert Hall where Wynonna put on a fantastic show singing a few of her hits, but mostly songs from her Christmas CD.

Wynonna is so personable. She interacts a lot with the audience as she performs. It is so fun. I would say something like, "I love you Wynonna." She would respond, "I know you love me... I love you too." Because we were sitting so close it was easy for us to make eye contact with her. At one point of the show she was talking about her gratitude for her fans and Sandy said "Your biggest fan is right here." Wynonna said, "Where?" "Who?" and then she came to the side of the stage and looked and me and said "Jeffrey is my biggest fan?" I froze in fear that she was going to call me up to the stage...which was literally three steps away. I didn't know what to say. I just nodded my head and said "Yes I am!" Wynonna smiled. I blushed. The show was awesome and I enjoyed it for a lot of reasons. I was especially happy to have friends and family with me enjoying the music I have loved for so long. I know they each enjoyed Wynonna's company too. She can sing a song and belt out a note...Trust me.

After the show we walked around to the back of the concert hall and waited for her to come outside. This is what crazed fans do! It was cold and I knew she would be in a hurry to get on the bus so I didn't expect her to talk to us for very long but I knew she wouldn't let me down. When she came outside and seen us standing there she stepped around the security guard and came over to us (Me, My Mom, Sandy, Jamie, and Christy) and shook our hands and talked to us. There were only a couple other fans there and she talked to them too. She is very genuine. She saw that I was holding her book and one of her cd's and said she would sign them but she wanted to sign them on her bus because of the cold weather. She can't get sick at the beginning of her tour you know? She took them, signed them, and sent them back out to me. I appreciate her doing this so much as it really made my day and I recognize that she normally doesn't sign after her shows.

I didn't get pictures of her talking to us because I wasn't ready for that and I was holding my book and cd. Honestly, I thought we had a few more minutes before she was going to be out there so I didn't have my camera ready. Oh well. It was great. I have met her three times now and each time has been a fantastic experience. Thank you Wynonna!

This was taken as we arrived at the Concert Hall earlier in the day.



Getting ready for dinner and the show in the hotel room.

Sandy, Christy, Anita, and Jamie getting ready to go into the concert.

Wynonna's Buses. Her bus is the second one back. I often think of how much fun it may be to travel the country on one of these buses. I could even drive! I'll bet it gets old after a while.

This bus was the first to pull out of the parking lot. Wynonna hadn't even come out to meet us yet. I just wanted a picture of the bus, so here it is. Ironically I shut my camera off and put it into my coat and then she came out the door. Wouldn't you know?

My Autographed CD.

She signed her book too.

The autographed copies. Thank you Wy!

I had a blast and appreciate Sandy sharing the tickets she won with my family. I know they benefited from the concert and love the experience. I can't wait to go again. By the way, Wynonna has a new cd coming out in February and I am excited to hear what she has to sing. This was a great way to kick off the holiday season.