Wynonna Judd Shares 'Hear Me Now' FEAT. IRON & Wine From New Album THE HARD TRUTH

Wynonna Judd will release her new album, 'The Hard Truth,' this Friday, and the singer has shared the track 'Hear Me Now' featuring Iron & Wine ahead of the album's release. The album marks the most personal record of Judd's career, featuring her first-ever album co-writes across ten songs that draw from moments of triumph and loss. The production comes from her husband and musical partner, Cactus Moser.

Co-written with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, 'Hear Me Now' blends Beam's reflective perspective with Judd's own story, addressing the complicated love, loss, and longing that remain after the passing of her mother, Naomi Judd. The song is framed as a conversation Judd can no longer have, as she wonders what her mother would think of the woman she has become.

'She was really open and vulnerable with the stories she shared,' Beam explained. 'I was surprised at how determined she was about trying something new, and she talked a lot about how much Joni Mitchell's music meant to her. I wanted to give her something in that vein. A great collaborator.'

'This song represents where I'm at right now,' Wynonna explains. 'It's me looking around at what's still here, what's gone, and what I'm still carrying with me. There are little snapshots and references in these lyrics that probably won't make sense to anybody but me, and I love that. They're pieces of my life. So much of my story is wrapped up in my mother, and I still wonder what she would think if she could hear me now. Would she roll her eyes? Would she be surprised? Would she harmonize? Writing this with Sam Beam gave me a place to put those questions, because losing someone doesn't mean the conversation ends. I still talk to Mom. I still hear her. And every once in a while, when I'm singing, I wonder if she's listening.'

The first half of 'The Hard Truth' centers on Judd's bittersweet relationship with her mother and the struggle to find herself, remaining locked outside a life of her own even in the spotlight. The Bacharach-inflected 'Am I Missing Out' is sung from the perspective of a young Wynonna realizing some essential part of herself was eclipsed in a world where she had to grow up overnight. 'Everything,' co-written with Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, lays down a groove for the story of a life in the spotlight that came early for Judd. She admits that 'there's a cost that 'just fine' brings' while Hood chimes in wryly, 'Don't forget to smile, Wy.' Judd says of the album's next chapter, 'is me celebrating my survival of all this.'

'Being a part of this record and helping bring these songs to life as its producer, has been the most important work I've known,' said Moser. 'We started with nothing but a feeling and emotion and ended up with an entire album that captures Wynonna's story with a level of honesty she's never experienced in her career. It's the kind of record that makes a difference and reminds you why music exists in the first place.'

Judd will begin a run of shows in her home state of Kentucky at the Lexington Opera House, followed by a date in Somerset and two nights in her hometown of Ashland. Her East Coast fall tour begins October 8 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City.

Tracklist

1. Prelude (All Downhill From Ashland)

2. All Downhill From Ashland

3. Everything (feat. Patterson Hood)

4. Am I Missing Out

5. Broken And Blessed

6. Hear Me Now (feat. Iron & Wine)

7. The Hopeful Lie (feat. The War And Treaty)

8. Kentucky Queen

9. Girl Who Could Sing

10. Drive

11. Love Ain't Got The Best Of Me

Tour Dates

Sept 30 – Lexington, KY @ The Lexington Opera House^

Oct 1 – Somerset, KY @ The Virginia^

Oct 2 – Ashland, KY @ Paramount Theater^

Oct 3 – Ashland, KY @ Paramount Theater^

Oct 8 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom*

Oct 16 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall*

Oct 17 – Durant, OK @ Choctaw Grand Theater*

Oct 20 – Omaha, NE @ Orpheum Theater*

Oct 22 – Tulsa, OK @ The Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort*

Oct 23 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre*

Nov 6 – Oxford, AL @ Oxford Performing Arts Center*

Nov 7 – North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center*

Nov 9 – West Palm Beach, FL @ The Kravis Center – Dreyfoos Hall*

Nov 11 – Tampa, FL @ Straz Center – Morsani Hall*

Nov 13 – Roanoke Rapids, NC @ Weldon Mills Theatre*

Nov 14 – Bristol, VA @ Hard Rock Live Bristol*

Nov 19 – Bethlehem, PA @ The Wind Creek Event Center*

Nov 20 – Northfield, OH @ Center Stage at Northfield Park Racino*

Nov 21 – Gary, IN @ Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana*

Feb 10, 2027 – San Juan, Puerto Rico @ Country Music Cruise

^ Kentucky Queen Tour

* The Hard Truth Tour with special guest Troubadour Blue

More information is available at wynonna.com.