Concert-goers celebrated the country music career of Lisa Brokop at a hall in her Surrey hometown Monday, Nov. 24.
The Newton-raised, Nashville-based Brokop and band performed a “Hometown Hall of Fame” concert to recognize her Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame induction two months ago in Kelowna.
At Shannon Hall in Cloverdale, a jean jacket-wearing Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke proclaimed “Lisa Brokop Day” in honour of the Princess Margaret Secondary grad of 1991, for making “significant contributions” to Canadian music.
Locke presented a framed plaque that says Brokop “continues to inspire generations of musicians and fans, with her legacy deeply rooted in the cultural fabric of Surrey.”
The 300-capacity hall was decorated in Vegas showroom style for the concert, co-presented by Cloverdale Rodeo & Country Fair.
“Today is a special day,” Locke said. “We’ve already done a proclamation at (city) council, but I’m going to read it out today as well, because this is just so very special for us in Surrey.”
Locke is a longtime fan of Brokop’s music.
“You know, my daughter and I used to stalk Lisa when she was doing the circuit around this area,” Locke said as the crowd laughed.
“That was you?” Brokop replied without missing a beat.
The moment is shown in video posted to manager/promoter Cris Schandl’s Facebook page, along with performance clips.
Vancouver Island musician Chase Varnes, 14, also performed, as did One More Girl.
The evening concert gave Brokop a chance to return to her old stomping grounds, not far from where her parents live.
Hall of Fame induction is “kinda funny,” Brokop told the Now-Leader in September, “because at first I was thinking, ‘Oh, how exciting, what an honour, and I get to be in this lineup of all these great people that came before me, like Anne Murray and kd lang, you know, some of my favourites.’ Then it’s like that feeling, ‘Well, does that mean my days are numbered?’ I don’t feel like it, there’s still a lot going on in my world, probably more than there has been in awhile.”
Brokop’s music career began in Surrey four decades ago at age seven. In 1990 she was 17 when her first single, “Daddy, Sing to Me,” entered the Canadian charts.
She started out performing with her family before going solo as a teenager, landed a starring role in Harmony Cats, signed with Capitol and Sony/Columbia Records and earned an Academy of Country Music nomination.
Now a three-time CCMA Female Artist of the Year winner, Brokop has collected Gold-certified albums, U.S.-charting singles and hits recorded by Reba McEntire, Pam Tillis and Terri Clark. She continues to write and record music of her own, and also tours tribute shows including The Legendary Ladies of Country Music and The Patsy Cline Project, with husband Paul Jefferson.