One of America’s greatest voices, Judy Collins, returns in concert Saturday to the Honokaa People’s Theatre.
Still singing, writing, recording and inspiring a new generation of music fans, Collins remains vital almost six decades into a career with a 50-album body of work. She released an album with Stephen Stills in September titled “Everybody Knows,” and her new single, “Dreamers,” released last month, has garnered rave reviews.
In the 1960’s Collins evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. At 79, her luminescent presence continues to shine brightly.
The award-winning singer-songwriter is renowned for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” from her landmark 1967 album, “Wildflowers,” has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Collins’ dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,”a Stephen Sondheim composition from the Broadway musical “A Little Night Music,” won Song of the Year at the 1975 Grammy Awards. Artists including Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album “Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins.”
Collins has also authored several books, including the powerful and inspiring “Sanity and Grace.” For her most recent title, the memoir, “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music,” she reaches deeply inside and, with unflinching candor, recalls her turbulent childhood, extraordinary rise to fame, her tempestuous romance with Stephen Stills, her epic victories over depression and alcoholism, her redemption through embracing a healthy and stable lifestyle and finding true love with Louis Nelson, her partner of 30 years.
In addition, she remains a social activist, representing UNICEF and numerous other causes.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 general, $75 gold circle, available at: Hilo Ukulele & Guitar and Hilo Music Exchange, Hilo; Top Stitch and Waipio Cookhouse, Honokaa; Waimea General Store in Parker Square, Waimea; Kona Music Exchange, Kailua-Kona; Kiernan Music, Kainaliu; online at bluesbearhawaii.com; and by calling 896-4845.