Wynonna Judd announces her first solo album in a decade, 'The Hard Truth'

• The Hard Truth is Wynonna Judd's first solo album since 2016
• The album was produced by her husband, Cactus Moser, over five years
• Lead single "Kentucky Queen" was released alongside the album announcement

Wynonna Judd has announced her first solo studio album in a decade. The celebrated country singer revealed on Tuesday that the record, titled The Hard Truth, is due for release on 2 October, and shared the news with a candid statement on social media that laid bare the deeply personal nature of the project.

"I've spent a lifetime singing about heartbreak, healing, faith, and survival, but I've never made a record like this one. These songs tell the truth about where I've been, what I've lost, what I've overcome, and who I've become," the 62-year-old wrote on Instagram.

"This album asked me to be brave enough to tell the truth—even when my voice shook. It challenged me to let go of perfectionism and embrace the beauty of honest emotion."

Five years in the making

The Hard Truth was produced by Judd's husband, Cactus Moser, and took five years to complete. Alongside the album announcement, Judd also released the lead single, "Kentucky Queen."

"My hope is that when you hear these songs, you feel what I was feeling while writing and recording them. If they help someone feel seen, understood, or a little less alone, then every hard truth was worth telling."

Tour dates and Kentucky homecoming

This summer, Judd will head out on a series of tour dates alongside Melissa Etheridge, with the run kicking off on 24 June. Further details are available at wynonna.com. She will also mark the album's release with three shows in her home state of Kentucky in the autumn.

A decade of grief and resilience

Judd's previous solo record, Wynonna & The Big Noise, came out in 2016. In the years since, she has remained active on the road. In 2022, she embarked on The Judds: The Final Tour — a run originally planned as a co-headlining outing with her mother and long-time musical partner, Naomi Judd, before her mother's death.

Speaking at the time on Talking in Circles with Clint Black, Judd reflected on the experience of making music while navigating loss and looking ahead.

"Here's the deal, y'all. We have to celebrate the past because it's where we come from but not be defined by it. So I'm trying to go back and stop the car, read the map and see where I'm going because I'm making a record right now. But I'm also living in the past, I'm in the present, and singing in the future."

She also spoke of what the tour had given her personally. "I think you have to get to a place in your life where you realize you're not a victim. And all this crap has happened to me with mom committing suicide last year I had a choice to make.

"I could either let that define me or give me permission to show everybody and myself that I could do it even in spite of the hellish time period that I went through, that I could still sing. And so I went on tour because those fans bought the tickets and they were there for me."