Judy Collins Celebrates 80th Birthday On May 1, Forecasts Another Prolific Year

Judy Collins will celebrate her 80th birthday on May 1. Collins, the iconic singer, songwriter, activist and author, has remained incredibly prolific in the past five years and that trend will continue in 2019. She’s slated to release two new albums and will tour well into the fall, with special summer appearances to be announced. 

In the past four years, Collins has released three albums and a tremendous amount of accolades. 2016’s Silver Skies Blue, a duets record with Ari Hest, was nominated for a GRAMMY Award, and led to a performance at the GRAMMY Premiere Ceremony. In 2017 she released Everybody Knows her first album with Stephen Stills after a decades-long friendship that of course yielded the classic song “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” Judy and Stephen were profiled by CBS Sunday Morning, the New Yorker, NPR and more. 2015’s Strangers Again featured duets with Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Jeff Bridges and marked Judy’s highest Billboard 200 debut in decades.  

She also released “Dreamers” last summer, an incisive a capella protest song written and recorded by Judy as a response to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Collins has long been an advocate and activist: she testified at the Chicago Seven trial, marched in Mississippi for Civil Rights and in opposition of the Vietnam War. Her recording of “Amazing Grace” became part of the soundtrack to the opposition of the Vietnam War and remained on the charts for over 70 weeks after it was released in 1970. Listen to “Dreamers” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyok_k_n1AE 

The venerable NYC venue Joe’s Pub also honored Judy as recipient of the 2019 Vanguard Award & Residency – a yearlong celebration of the career of a singular artist that will include her own concerts to be announced, along with artist concerts that she’s curated. More information here: https://publictheater.org/en/Programs--Events/Joes-Pub/Artist-Development/Judy-Collins/

Judy will be performing on tour across the U.S., from May into November, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC on June 14. More appearances and concerts will be announced in the coming months.  

Making her album debut in 1961, Collins has released over 55 albums (four of which have gone Gold, and two Platinum), a number of live concert DVDs, and has published several books including a novel and two memoirs. She is a GRAMMY Award winner and has multiple GRAMMY nominations, has performed at a presidential inauguration, appeared on everything from Sesame Street to HBO’s Girls and continues to play nearly 100 concerts a year.  

Tour dates:

May 11 – Frederick, MD – Weinberg Center for the Arts

May 12 – Kilmarnock, VA – Auditorium, Lancaster Middle School

May 17 – Midland, ON, Canada – Midland Cultural Centre

May 18 – Toronto, ON, Canada – Hugh’s Room Live

May 24 – Ogunquit, ME – Jonathan’s

May 25 – Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center

May 26 – Barnstable, MA – Tilden Arts Center

May 31 – Shipshewana, IN – Shipshewana Event Center (Blue Gate Theatre)

June 1 – Cincinnati, OH – Memorial Hall

June 8 – Petoskey, MI – Great Lakes Center for the Arts

June 13 – Newton, NJ – The Newton Theatre

June 14 – New York, NY – Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum of Art

June 15 – Plymouth, NH – The Flying Monkey

July 11 – Washburn, WI – Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua

July 13 – Williams Bay, WI – Music by the Lake

July 18 – Margate, NJ – Milton & Betty Katz JCC

July 19 – Amagansett, NY – The Stephen Talkhouse

July 28 – Stowe, VT – Spruce Peak Performing Art Center

August 1 – Whitchurch (Hampshire), UK – Wickham Festival

August 10 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Cain Park

August 12 – Denver, CO – Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street

August 16 – Salisbury, MA – Blue Ocean Music Hall

October 11 – Spring, TX – Dosey Doe

October 12 – Las Vegas, NV – Santa Fe Station Casino

October 13 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House

October 17 – Philadelphia, PA – Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

October 19 – Skokie, IL – North Shore Center for the Performing Arts

November 8 – Agoura Hills, CA – The Canyon Montclair

November 10 – Pasadena, CA – The Rose

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