JUDY Collins is meant to be taking a bow — but she’s doing it with a grin, a guitar, and a very un-retired glint in her eye.

According to a new report, the singer is currently on what’s being billed as a farewell tour around the country, framed as a valedictory lap (or two) for a beloved folk institution. The twist is that, at 87, she’s not presenting as someone limping to the finish line.

Collins has said she’s “having a lot more steam in my engine,” a line that neatly sums up the mood: not wistful, not wan, and certainly not delicate. The whole idea of a “farewell” can come with the soft-focus suggestion of dwindling energy, but she’s pushing back on that just by keeping a full concert schedule.

There’s also something deliciously specific about how she’s choosing to describe her place in the culture now. Collins has called herself “the Betty White of the folk movement,” a comparison that lands because it’s both affectionate and disarmingly blunt. It’s not a claim to grandeur; it’s a claim to staying power — and to still being fun company.

That, ultimately, is why this tour is getting attention. “Farewell” tours can sometimes feel like a slow exhale, a ceremonial goodbye designed to flatter nostalgia. Collins is leaning into the goodbye branding while sounding like she’s very much in the business of showing up, singing the songs, and doing the work with relish.

If this really is her last big run, she’s making the point the best performers always make: endings are a stage, not a surrender. And if it isn’t the end? Well — she’s already told you she’s got steam left.