Last night (Sunday, May 15th), family, friends, fans and fellow entertainers gathered at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville to celebrate the life of Naomi Judd on the live televised River Of Time Celebration. Participants both in-person and via video message included Carly Pearce, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Ashley McBryde, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town, Emmylou Harris, Brandi Carlile, Bono, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Bette Midler and Salma Hayek, among others.
The evening included several performances, starting with Wynonna Judd singing “River of Time,” which was written by her late mother.
Here is the list of performances:
Litte Big Town – “Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)”
Jamey johnson – “John Deere Tractor”
Emmylou Harris, Allison Russell – “The Sweetest Gift”
The Gaithers – “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be”
Ashley McBryde – “Love Is Alive”
Brad Paisley – “Young Love (Strong Love)”
Carly Pearce – “Why Not Me”
Wynonna & Brandi Carlile – “The Rose”
Wynonna – “Love Can Build A Bridge”
Wynonna addressed the loss of her mother with an emotional speech.“Tonight is a celebration and at the same time I can't put into words how devastated I am. It's the first place I've been publicly. I said goodbye to her two weeks ago and kissed her on the forehead. Her eybrows were still perfect (laughter). She was unlike anyone in our family and I miss her so much.”
Prior to Naomi's death, she and Wynonna had announced a tour set to kick off in September. Last night, Wynonna revealed that she will continue on that tour, solo. She said: “So I've made a decision and I thought I'd share it on national television, that after a lot of thought I'm gonna have to honor her and do this tour. I'm just gonna have to (audience cheers).
Naomi died on April 30th at her Franklin, TN area home. According to Ashley Judd, she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.