ASHLAND —
With an audience filled with fans who have been listening to her for decades, Wynonna Judd had lots of backup singers for her hometown show at Ashland’s Paramount Arts Center Saturday evening.
“The Judds were the very first group I listened to when I was wee little,” said Matt Emrick of Parkersburg, W.Va. standing backstage with his grandmother, Gerri Ankrom, in hopes of getting a chance to meet Judd.
Ankrom, a fans of Judd since the early ’80s who counts her favorite Judd song as “A Mother’s Smile,” said Saturday’s show was even more special because “This is my first concert to ever go to.”
Emrick, whose favorite Wynonna song is “Making My Way,” said he drew inspiration from Wynonna’s life and her resolve in the face of hardship and “after the tragedy of her mom.”
Nearby, Chico and Dee Dee Adkins of Hamlin, W.Va., stood with a 12-string Yamaha guitar bearing the signatures of 115 musicians including Merle Haggard, George Jones, David Alan Coe and Marty Stuart. Adkins said he hoped to get Wynonna’s autograph onto the instrument, but didn’t think his chances were very good Saturday evening. Adkins said he has been very successful meeting artists who’ve performed at the Paramount, and added the venue’s security workers are always polite.
Donna Wright of Georgetown, Ind., said the drive to Ashland for Saturday’s show was well worth it. “Um, yeah ... It’s Wynonna,” she said, causing her friends to laugh. Wright estimated she’s seen Wynonna perform “from 84 to now, 100 times probably.” The artist’s appeal, she said, is in her voice.
“Nobody has her voice. She can sing anything ... beautiful. Nobody has a voice like hers,” she said.
Wearing matching T-shirts proclaiming their love for “Wy,” Vickie Mankin, Heather Gragg and Julian Yancey of Beckley also stood on point hoping for a chance to catch a moment with Wynonna. Yancey explained Mankin is “a huge Wynona fan,” after meeting her and getting to go onto her tour bus in Beckley when she was just seven years old, adding “That was 24 years ago,” before explaining they had teamed up for Saturday’s show with hopes of reuniting the star and her fan.
“We listened to about 300 of her songs, just clips, on the iPod on the way here,” Gragg said, adding she personally enjoys the way Wynonna tells personal stories during her performances.
Drew Scott and Kevin Allen were also among the longtime fans at Saturday’s show. “Oh God, I’ve been listening to her since 1981, when they had their first big hit (“Why Not Me”),” he said, later adding “I appreciate beautiful women.”
After meeting with local fans backstage, Judd’s band, The Big Noise, took the stage with the sound of an electric slide guitar hovering over a lone keyboard note before a pounding drumbeat intro as Wynonna stepped out with confidence apparent, wearing an all-black fringed outfit, and belted out “No One Else on Earth.” Sensing she had a crowd that knew every word, Judd gave the crowd a chance to sing the lyrics back to her and seemed to like what she heard.
Delivering fan favorites with her trademark gravel and growl, Judd seemed to be enjoying herself as much as anyone in attendance. When one enthusiastic audience member loudly proclaimed love for her, Judd simply smiled and said, “I know you love me, that’s why I’m here.”
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.
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Wynonna rocks her hometown
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