Judy Collins’s 87-and-still-singing road: a bright, candid farewell tour

At 87, Judy Collins is on the Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Farewell Tour 2026–27, performing a mix of beloved covers and new material from Spellbound with guests like Bruce Cockburn; she stresses it’s a true farewell, though she has no fixed end date and remains active with writing, a Broadway project, and ongoing tours. The interview traces her lifelong love of traveling (inspired by her entertainer father), a career-defining 1977 voice surgery after a hemangioma, and 48 years of sobriety that helped preserve her instrument. Collins also reflects on Leonard Cohen’s influence, her late husband Louis Nelson, and her continued creative output (poetry, songs) while keeping sets fresh. She even adds a nightly political gesture by sharing roses with the audience after “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” on stage.