POP MUSIC REVIEW : Judd Flies Solo, Boldly

Much has been made of Wynonna Judd’s reluctance to step into the spotlight without her mom and longtime singing partner, Naomi. But at the midway point of her maiden tour, Judd apparently has scuttled any lingering self-doubts. Making her Southern California solo debut at the San Diego Convention Center on Sunday, Judd projected the self-assurance of a road-tested veteran.

Judd headlined a bill that also featured the evergreen country-swing of Merle Haggard, as well as up-and-comer Billy Dean (“Somewhere in My Broken Heart”). Both supporting acts were given enthusiastic receptions, but it was Judd whom the slightly under-capacity audience of 6,000 came to hear, and it was obvious early on that they would grant her carte blanche to set the pace and establish her own concert identity.

That leeway would prove fortuitous, because Judd charted a bold, ballad-laden course that would have seemed risky for an artist with twice her experience and following. Backed by an eight-piece band (including three singers) that emphasized the contemporary edges of her work, Judd kept the gratuitous concert shtick to a minimum and took steady aim on the emotional heart of her best material.

Strapped into an electric guitar, the black-attired Judd opened with the grit and grind of “What It Takes,” from her debut solo album, “Wynonna,” and kept things lively with the saucy “I Saw the Light.” After that, every other song was a sit-down ballad.

Taking positions at different joints of a multilevel, modern-looking, copper-hued stage set, Judd carefully measured the poignancy in the new album’s “All of That Love From Here” and “My Strongest Weakness,” sandwiching them around two midtempo Judds tunes--”Give a Little Love” and “Mama He’s Crazy” (the team’s first No. 1 hit, in 1984).

Judd dedicated another of the duo’s ballads, “River of Time,” to those in the audience who had ever experienced difficult times. In her introduction, she quoted the song’s lyric by way of crediting faith with guiding the mother-daughter team through the trials of Naomi’s battle with chronic active hepatitis. Thankfully, it was Wynonna’s only allusion to the much-publicized illness that forced Mom to the sidelines last year.

Tellingly, this stretch of slower, more melodramatic material never caused the show’s energy to flag, owing both to the genuine passion in Judd’s readings and to the diva-like control and power of her voice. Judd hit--and sustained--some high notes that are still reverberating around San Diego Bay. After a crowd-pleasing rendition of the Judds’ “Why Not Me,” Wynonna geared down again, turning in her loveliest vocal of the night on her solo album’s melodically challenging ballad “She Is His Only Need.”

As befits an emerging queen of country music, everything Judd did was greeted with cheers by a solicitous throng that came bearing placards and bouquets. People even patiently waited for an encore when Judd seemingly cut the show short at the 50-minute mark. By answering the cheers with the soul-pop of “No One Else on Earth” and the touching country-gospel ballad “It’s Never Easy to Say Goodbye” (both from “Wynonna”), Judd cemented a relationship with her fans that promises to become among the most intense and indulgent in country music.

Judd returns for shows at the Universal Amphitheatre on June 25 and the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa on June 27.