Name: JUDY COLLINS
Start: 2025-02-19T19:30:00-05:00
Location: 430 S Tryon Street Charlotte NC 28202

JUDY COLLINS
Folk / Singer-Songwriter

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JUDY COLLINS:

In her 50-plus years in music, Judy Collins has alwaysexhibited impeccable taste in songcraft. On her landmark 1967 album,Wildflowers, she curated a stunning collection featuring originals alongsidesongs by not-yet household names such as Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, andadventurous selections by Jacques Brel and Francesco Landini. Her discerningpalette and her literary gifts have enabled her to evolve into a poetic,storyteller songwriter. Now, in her 6th decade as a singer and songwriter, Judyis experiencing a profound level of growth and prolific creativity.

The cultural treasure’s 55th release, Spellbound, outFebruary 25, 2022, finds Judy enjoying an artistic renaissance. The 13-songalbum is a special entry in her oeuvre. It marks the first time ever she wroteall the songs on one of her albums. It features 12 new recently-written modernfolk songs and a bonus track of her evergreen, “The Blizzard.” Spellbound is anintrospective and impressionistic album. It unfolds as if Judy curated a museumexhibit of her life and welcomed us into a retrospective of her most formativemoments, some big and public and some intensely personal and intimate.

“They say after the plague came the Renaissance,” Judysays with a good-natured laugh, loosely referencing the pandemic. “The truthis, I didn’t do an album like this sooner because I had other projects on mymind. This album was necessary for me to keep creative—it was the next piece ofthe puzzle.” She continues: “Now felt like the perfect time to make this recordbecause, after all that’s happened in the world, we need something beautifuland inspirational to lift us up.”

In Judy’s eloquently written liner notes, she dedicatesSpellbound to folk masters Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. On the album, shefurthers their traditions of generously sharing their lives, loves, andpersonal reflection. Also, in her notes, Judy relates the origins of hersongwriting—a story some know and a testament to how gloriously unpredictableart and the muse are. Story goes that in 1966 Leonard Cohen made a special tripto Judy’s apartment to play her his song, “Suzanne,” and, while there, asked herwhy she wasn’t writing her own songs. Her response was to sit down at herSteinway that very day and write, “Since You’ve Asked.” Judy has been writingever since then.

A lifetime and 54 years of songwriting elegantly comeforth from Spellbound. The album revisits the thrilling 1960s Greenwich Villageyears, recreates breathtaking moments in the wilds of Colorado during Judy’schildhood, snapshots her hell-raising years, and frames quiet moments of naturefrom just a few years back. The title references a formative time in Judy’slife when her pure love of the outdoors lured her close to becoming a parkranger. Lyrically, the songs are impressionistic and evocatively emotional. “Istrove to capture what I see with lyrics and bring particular times to life,”she says of the album’s painterly and personal songwriting.

While she celebrates many passages in life with herlyrics, her vocals sound untouched by time. Judy’s singing on Spellbound shinespristinely as she eases from warm low-register vocals to soaring high tones asif no time has elapsed since her singing mesmerized a generation onWildflowers. “That’s a combination of good fortune, extreme luck, and hard workand discipline,” she reveals. “I do a lot to protect and take care of my voice,and I practice every day—you have to, or you lose it.”

The majestical track, “So Alive,” is an exhilaratingtime capsule of a song that documents the dazzling excitement and possibilityof 1960s folk boom in Greenwich Village. “So Alive” establishes the album’ssublimely detailed production aesthetic which features a palette of acousticguitar, textured electric guitar, piano, keys, lyrical bass lines, brusheddrums, and Judy’s angelic vocals. The sweetly nostalgic “When I Was a Girl inColorado” pines for those pre-fame years when Judy’s life centered around seasonaloutdoor joys.

Judy’s flair for literature, poetry, and her commitmentto social activism shine forth on the stirring “Thomas Merton.” Merton was anauthor and a monk who spent most of his adult life in a monastery aroundLouisville, Kentucky. He was also a potent force in the anti-war movement, andthere have been theories that his death was a murder. Judy addresses this juicypossibility with engrossing storytelling and poetic phrases. One potent passagereads: He dreamed of being an eagle with wings he would fly/from the west andnorth and the east/Thru rain and sleet and wind and snow/He’d find a way tobring us peace/Long after he was buried/Upon his death concealed/The evidenceof bullet holes finally was revealed. The smoldering ballad “Arizona” showcasesJudy’s achingly beautiful vocal floating over a piano ballad lavished withethereal ambiance and layers of heavenly harmony vocals.

In the studio, Judy worked with a trusted family ofmusicians, including co-producer Alan Silverman and singer-songwriter-guitaristAri Hest. Ari has worked closely with Judy for years, and in 2016, Judy and Ariwere nominated for a “Best Of Folk Album” Grammy for their duet album, SilverSkies Blue. In the studio, the core group of musicians on the album aremulti-instrumentalist Thad DeBrock (Duncan Sheik, Nelly, Jonas Brothers),bassist Zev Katz (Marc Anthony, Elton John, Billy Joel), and drummer Doug Yowell(Suzanne Vega, Joe Jackson, Duncan Sheik) – additional musicians on the albumare detailed within the album’s liner notes.

In a life and a career brimming with milestone moments, Spellbound is a high watermark of artistry and personal evolution. Though Judyhas been writing for half a century, her new album ushers in an era ofunbridled creativity. “I always knew I was going to be a late bloomer,” shesays, cracking up with laughter.