The Whitehawk Arts Council recently announced who the performers will be for the Stars for Saskatchewan 2016-2017 season.
The first scheduled performance will be Lisa Brokop on October 27 at the Preeceville Community Hall.
It’s not often for many artists to have an enduring musical career, says Brokop’s promotional material. In a day and age when most artists flicker for a moment before fading out of the spotlight. Brokop is set to celebrate 20 remarkable years of singing, song writing and performing.
What’s the secret to her success? “I love what I do,” says Brokop. “Every note I sing, whether in the studio or from the stage, is true. It hasn’t always been an easy road. There have been many curves, bumps and detours. But really, it is the love of the music that motivates each step I take in the business. It keeps me moving forward. And I think fans feel and appreciate that love.”
Lisa’s love affair with performing began in suburban Vancouver. As a baby, it was clear to her parents that she was special, her press release states. She was singing before she could talk! By the age of seven, she was on stage with her musical mother and brother, performing everything from polkas to Kenny Rogers' classics. By age 12, she was performing with a number of Vancouver bands, and by 15, she began to perform professionally, singing with a touring band. A year later she began a solo career and released Daddy Sing to Me, the first of a string of successful singles from her independent debut album My Love.
At the age of 19, she landed the lead female role in the feature film Harmony Cats. The movie, in which she played a country singer who leaves home in search of a big break in Nashville, proved to be prophetic. Shortly after filming wrapped up, and on the strength of her very first Nashville showcase, Brokop was signed up Capitol Records. Over the next three years, she released two critically acclaimed albums, the Canadian-certified gold record Every Little Girl’s Dream and the self-titled Lisa Brokop, which garnered hits such as Give Me a Ring Sometime, Take That, Before He Kissed Me, and She Can't Save Him. In 1995, the prestigious Academy of Country Music recognized Brokop with a nomination for Top New Female Vocalist.
In 1998, she signed with Sony Nashville/Columbia Records and released When You Get To Be You featuring the hit singles What's Not To Love, How Do I Let Go and the top-10 smash hit Better Off Broken.
Now comfortably established in her adopted home of Nashville, Tennessee, she took some time away from the rigors of the road and discovered a hidden wellspring of songwriting talent, which gave her renewed self-respect, strength and determination, states her promotional material. She received the Independent Female Artist of the Year three times.
Well recognized in the industry for her song-writing talent, stars of the industry like Reba McEntire, Terri Clark and Pam Tillis have recorded her songs.
Second concert
The second concert scheduled is The Lion, The Bear and The Fox on November 16 at the Sturgis Community hall.
The Lion the Bear and the Fox took over 30 years to find each other, but they were meant to perform together, says their promotional material. Arruda (the lion), Cory Woodward (the bear) and Ryan McMahon (the fox) are the trio which the Nanaimo Daily News called "a musical force of nature" to be reckoned with.
In May of 2012, the three men set out on a tour to promote their respective solo efforts. While Woodward was gearing up to release a full lengthrecord, Arruda and McMahon continued to tour. The three big voices began to support each other during shows and at the tour’s conclusion, they had a set list worth of material. They agreed that something that had come together so naturally, so organically, simply had to be re-visited.
Within a year’s time they were officially working together. They've just completed a successful Toronto debut at CMW 2014, and have had the pleasure of playing alongside a wide array of Canadian talent, such as Lee Harvey Osmond (Tom Wilson of Blackie, the Rodeo Kings and Junkhouse), Elliott Brood and Kim Mitchell.
Final concert
The final performance scheduled will be by Eric Harper at the Preeceville Community Hall on February 13.
An award winning guitarist, Harper creates a unique sound all his own but his music is melodically entrancing, ferocious and harmonically stirs the soul to the core, said his promotional material.
Harper is an exotic fusion of rock and flamenco. Among the awards he has received are: the Yamaha Young Performer award, the Guitar Mania contest and honour mentions in the John Lennon song writing competition.
