Wadena Area Concert Association starts season with legendary country music – Wadena Pioneer Journal

WADENA — The Wadena Area Concert Association kicks off its 2024-2025 season at Wadena Memorial Auditorium with Lisa Brokop’s “Legendary Ladies of Country” tribute.

“It was a simple kind of music but yet eloquently done. And I just love that,” Brokop said of the era.

The Canada-born, Nashville-based musician will share heartfelt stories and perform hits from country music pioneers such as Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Anne Murray and more at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, at the auditorium.

“I don’t come out dressed as them. I’m not there to try and be those people. It’s just my interpretation of the songs,” said Brokop, a 51-year-old wife and mother. “I also have a couple of original songs that I wrote that kind of fall into the genre.”

According to her website, Brokop’s love affair with performing began in suburban Vancouver, British Columbia, and she was singing before she could talk. By the age of 7, she was on stage with her musical mother and brother, performing everything from polkas to Kenny Rogers.

By age 12, Brokop was sitting in with other Vancouver bands and went professional at age 15 when she joined a touring band, according to her bio, and a year later, she began a solo career and released “Daddy Sing To Me”, the first single from her independent debut album “My Love.”

“For me, I’ve got stories to tell about being a youngster learning about country music,” she said. “And I just really love the old-school music. I love how those songs were written back then. And I just love supporting that, so that it doesn’t get lost in the music that we have now today.

“Last year, I did a similar tour to this that went all through the Midwest, and we did play in Minnesota in a few different towns. Last year’s tour was ‘The Patsy Cline Project,’ my tribute to her, and this year it’s the ‘Legendary Ladies of Country.’”

Her Sunday tribute show includes: “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” by Barbara Mandrell; “Blue Kentucky Girl” by Emmylou Harris; “Harper Valley PTA” by Jeannie Criley; “You Ain’t Woman Enough” by Loretta Lynn; “Rose Garden” by Lynn Anderson; and many more.

“I wanted to choose ladies that I had a connection with songs that were influential to me growing up,” Brokop said. “I loved watching Barbara Mandrell on her TV show. I loved the music of Dottie West, so I wanted to do songs that came from the heart for me.”

Hits like “Snowbird” by Anne Murray, “Crazy” by Patsy Cline, “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton and “Tennessee Waltz” by Patti Page are examples of the music Brokop loved and will possibly perform during her “Legendary Ladies of Country” tribute in Wadena.

“I think that those songs were very heartfelt,” she said. “They were very raw and real, especially Loretta Lynn’s music. She wrote about exactly what was going on in her life at the time – having children, having a husband – and you really got to know her by listening to her music.”

It was a simple kind of music but yet eloquently done. And I just love that.

Lisa Brokop

Brokop landed the lead female role in the feature film “Harmony Cats” when she was 19, playing a country singer who leaves home in search of a big break in Nashville. After filming wrapped, and on the strength of her very first Nashville showcase, she was signed to Capitol Records.

“I do have a band. I will play acoustic. I also have a three-piece band — piano, bass and guitar — and a little bit of fiddle,” she said of her live show. “And we also have a video that plays behind us that helps people feel like they’re kind of going back in time to reminisce about those people.”

Brokop’s seventh album, “Beautiful Tragedy” was released in 2008 on the independent Ellbea Records. Eleven of the album’s 12 tracks were co-written by Brokop and all tracks were produced by Brokop and her husband Paul Jefferson.

Brokop said of making Nashville home, “I do love Nashville. Being a songwriter and being a new songwriter years ago, it was the best place to learn from the best. I got to write with people who were so much better than me, and I could figure out how to rise to the occasion.”

“Letters from Home,” a USO-style show honoring artists like Frank Sinatra, the Andrews Sisters, Credence Clearwater Rival and more, is next in the Wadena Area Concert Association’s lineup on Oct. 10. Brokop’s show on Sunday will last 90 minutes with an intermission.

“If you’re a ‘90s country fan or before that, I think you’ll really love this show,” Brokop said of her “Legendary Ladies of Country” tribute. “If you love old-school country music, this is your show.”

• What: Lisa Brokop’s “Legendary Ladies of Country.”
• When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22.
• Where: Wadena Memorial Auditorium, 216 Dayton Ave. SW.
• Cost: Seasonal membership for a family is $100 (two adults and children through age 18), for an adult is $45 and for students is $15. (Individual concert tickets are at the door for $15.)
• More info: 218-639-2097 or

  www.lisabrokop.com

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FRANK LEE is the features writer for the Wadena Pioneer Journal. He may be reached at 218-631-6470 or at

flee@wadenapj.com

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