Folk music legend Judy Collins is concluding her six-decade touring career, with her final US performances scheduled to run through 22 May 2027.
While the 87-year-old singer is stepping away from the road, she said that her creative output stays constant. “The work never ends,” Collins told the San Francisco Chronicle. She plans to continue recording, writing new music, and developing a Broadway musical after her current engagements conclude.
The current tour, titled Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: The Farewell Tour, marks the end of nearly 70 years of full-time performing. Collins plays about 120 shows annually.
Touring has been the great thread of my life. City to city, song to song, face to face. The audiences have carried me for decades, and I’ve never stopped being moved by what can happen in a room when we truly listen to one another.
Judy Collins, singer-songwriter
The tour is scheduled to reach the UK. It features a special performance at the London Palladium on 6 February 2027. Special guests include Elles Bailey, Eliza Carthy, Seth Lakeman and Katherine Priddy. Her final concert in Ireland is set for 24 January 2027 at St Michael’s theatre in New Ross. Her final UK concert is at the Palladium in London on 6 February 2027.
Collins rose to prominence in the New York folk scene of the 1960s. She became known for championing the work of unknown songwriters. She famously recorded “Both Sides, Now” after Joni Mitchell sang the track to her over the phone in 1967.
The song became a US Top 10 hit for Collins in 1968 as part of her Wildflowers album. That release predated Mitchell’s own studio recording on her sophomore Clouds album released in 1969. Over 1,000 artists later recorded the song, including Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, and Ronan Keating. Collins earned the Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance in 1969 for her version. It remains the only Grammy Award she ever won despite earning seven nominations throughout her career.
Similarly, Collins helped elevate Leonard Cohen’s career after a friend at Atlantic Records called her in 1966 to say Cohen wanted her to sing his songs. When Cohen visited her apartment, he could not play guitar and instead played “Suzanne”. Collins recorded the song the following day. That prompted her to go to the piano and write “Since You Asked” in 40 minutes.
The pair maintained a four-month affair while making Who Knows Where the Time Goes. Stills later sang the song to her on her birthday in California. Their relationship and its end resulted in a torrid back-and-forth of poignant songwriting. That output included Collins’ song “Houses” and Crosby, Stills and Nash’s classic hits “Helplessly Hoping” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”. Following their split, Stills and Collins repaired their bond.
They collaborated on a 2017 duets album roughly five decades after their initial romance, preserving their connection across a span of 60 years. The tour is scheduled to reach the UK for a special performance. Although Stills is not slated to play on the Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Farewell Tour, the lineup includes several other special guests joining Collins on stage, including Rosanne Cash and Livingston Taylor.
What unexpected guest artists will join Collins during her remaining US shows through 22 May 2027?
