B次元官网网址淭he poetry and the songs that you are supposed to write, I believe, are in your heart. You just have to open up your heart and not be afraid to get them out.B次元官网网址�

Judy Collins has never been afraid to bare her soul through her music and now, more than 60 years after the release of her first album, her beauty and poetry still resonate with the audiences around the world. Audiences in Victoria will have the chance to experience that magic for themselves when Sweet Judy Blue-eyes plays two Victoria shows in March.

At 85, Collins is still touring and sharing her gift with hundreds of performances every year.

B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e an artist and are given that gift of music, itB次元官网网址檚 something that can energize you and, if youB次元官网网址檙e lucky as I have been, you can do it your whole life,B次元官网网址� Collins says.

Of course, throughout her incredible and inspiring career, Collins has been a part of music history, and, given a little prompting, she will recount some stories about the great talents with whom sheB次元官网网址檚 shared a stage. But some of her most impactful memories donB次元官网网址檛 involve the biggest names.

B次元官网网址淲hen I first started out, I sang at a place called The Gilded Garter,B次元官网网址� Collins recalled. B次元官网网址淏ob Dylan was hanging out there waiting to see if he could get on Hootenanny, and weB次元官网网址檇 sing together occasionally. Of course he wasnB次元官网网址檛 known as Dylan back then...not yet.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think that people who are creative are the luckiest people on earth."

The memory of those early days gave rise to another memory for Collins, and she recounted how, while at the Gilded Garter, the owner of a strip show in Denver convinced Collins and Dylan into coming to see a headliner at her club, a woman named Tempest Storm.

B次元官网网址淎fter the show we went backstage to meet her. We were just starting out back then and this wonderful lady took me aside and gave me some advice,B次元官网网址� Collins said. B次元官网网址淪he told me that, if youB次元官网网址檙e good enough, you never have to take it all off ... that you have to deal your cards out carefully and leave something for the next time. Every show is a new beginning.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 advice that Collins never forgot, and she took it to heart, approaching every show B次元官网网址� every project B次元官网网址� with new excitement and energy.

(As an aside, Tempest Storm went on to a decades-long career that prompted the Mayor of New York to declare "Tempest Storm Day" in her honour in 1999.)

Other musical icons who've shared the stage with Collins are almost too numerous to list.

B次元官网网址淥h gosh, I was a great friend of Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton ... so many others. I worked with Stephen Sondheim... that was interesting...and well, so many others,B次元官网网址� Collins said.

B次元官网网址淚 think that people who are creative are the luckiest people on earth. Music is something that calls to us from our dreams and peeks out of the corner of our eyes when we think no one is looking. But if itB次元官网网址檚 something you love, youB次元官网网址檒l find a way to get it out to the world.B次元官网网址�

It would be a mistake, though, to think of Collins as just a musical legend of the past. Yes, she has that remarkable 55-album body of work, but sheB次元官网网址檚 writing... still recording... and, in 2017, Collins returned to the work of the songwriter who gave her an early hit with "Send in the Clowns" with A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim. That same year she and longtime friend Stephen Stills collaborated on an album, Everybody Knows.

In 2022 Collins was nominated for a Grammy for the seventh time for her latest album, Spellbound.

Collins is also an author, having published more than 30 books, and is a life-long activist and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Her numerous honours range from honourary doctorates to a having her work preserved in the Library of Congress.

But, finally, and to keep things in perspective, Collins tells a story that serves to keep her humble.

You see, Collins originally trained as a classical pianist, giving it up for folk music and the guitar.

Still, when her old piano teacher came to see her in concert (after she was an international star) he came backstage and provided a different viewpoint.

B次元官网网址淚 remember he came back and met me in my dressing room where he took my hands in his and, looking down at my fingers he sighed,B次元官网网址� Collins recalled with a chuckle. B次元官网网址淭hen he said, B次元官网网址楢h Judy, you really could have been someone special.B次元官网网址� I suppose itB次元官网网址檚 all about how you look at things.B次元官网网址�

For Judy Collins, itB次元官网网址檚 fair to say that she really has seen life from both sides now.

Judy Collins will be appearing at and for

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