By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on October 3, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com
Country singer Lisa Brokop is coming to Lethbridge this week and with her a journey back in time with a tribute to Country legend Patsy Cline.
Brokop spoke to the Herald on Monday and said the show is in conjunction with her husband Paul Jefferson who will showcase his own tribute to another country legend.
“He will be presenting his show which is called Hank Lives, which will be stories and songs of Hank Williams Sr., and then my set will be presenting the Patsy Cline project, which will be stories and songs about Patsy Cline,” said Brokop.
She said they will also be presenting some original songs which have been well-received throughout the tour.
“Lethbridge will be show number five. We started out in Regina, Saskatoon, Whitecourt, Cochrane and now to you guys on Thursday.”
She said so far the tour is only going through Western Canada, with the last show taking place in Langley, B.C. which gives her an opportunity to see familiar faces from growing up in Surrey until the age of 19.
Brokop said she found inspiration for the tour from listening as a young girl to Cline sing on the radio.
“I’ve always loved her voice since I was a little girl; that was the music that I would sing when I didn’t have my own songs, which I do now, but when I was first starting out that’s what I would sing. When I had the opportunity to sit in with another band, I would choose to play a Patsy Cline song.”
She said back then she would choose Cline songs because they were classics and thought everyone would know them.
“I think she is one of the greatest vocalists of all times, of all genres, so it’s an honour for me to sing her songs.”
She said that even though Cline died at the young age of 30 after only having a career span of five years, her legacy still lives on, even decades after her passing.
When it comes to what people can expect when attending the show, Brokop said Jefferson will start with his tribute to Hank Williams, and then he will play a couple of original songs he has written for the project.
“And then I will come out and do mine with Patsy Cline,” Brokop said. “I’ve got stories and I researched a lot about her and about the films that she recorded, and I also have a couple of original songs. And then we combine the two at the end, and imagine what it might have been like if Patsy Cline and Hank Williams Sr. had known each other.”
Brokop said they like to imagine what would have been for both of them to work together as they never had the chance, since Cline was after William’s time and loved his music.
“Patsy Cline came just after Hank’s career. He died early in his life too at the age of 29. Patsy Cline did a lot of his music, so we kind of put those thoughts into the show. We’ve got a song that we do with that so it’s really fun.”
The Patsy Cline Project will run Thursday at the Yates Memorial Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
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