Exhibition honouring country music star Lisa Brokop and industry champion Joe Wood opens ahead of CCMA kick-off

An exhibition opened Wednesday celebrating country music star Lisa Brokop and industry builder Joe Wood at Studio Bell in Calgary.

Studio Bell is getting ready for the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA) taking place in Kelowna this weekend by celebrating a pair of Canadian country music stalwarts.

An updated exhibition opened Wednesday celebrating this year’s latest Hall of Fame inductees, country star Lisa Brokop and industry builder Joe Wood.

An artist inductee can be a solo act, duo or a group. A builder is someone who has significantly advanced country music in Canada.

Brokop has earned three independent CCMA wins,13 consecutive CCMA female vocalist nominations, an ACM nod, multiple gold records, recorded 10 studio albums, and charted 43 North American singles. She’s also written songs for artists like Reba McEntire, Pam Tillis, and Terri Clark.

The updated exhibition features mementos from Brokop’s 35-year-long career, including her very first handwritten lyrics for the 1985 song “Country is the Best to Me!”, and the wedding dress she wore on the cover of The Patsy Cline Project album.

“Being welcomed into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame has been the greatest honour of my career and I’m truly humbled by it,” said Brokop. “I have such gratitude to every person who has ever bought a ticket to a show, bought an album or T-shirt or given me their love and support in some way over these past decades, and I share this honour with you!

“I am thrilled that these pieces will be on display in this exhibition. They hold so many memories and dreams, and I can’t wait for people to see them and join me in the celebration!”

CCMA has been honouring Canadian artists and builders who have made long-term contributions to the growth and development of Canadian country music since 1984.

Wood has spent nearly five decades championing independent Canadian country artists, helping deliver more than 10,000 songs to radio.

Wood has supported artists such as Gord Bamford, Tenille Townes, The Reklaws, Michelle Wright, Ian Tyson, Brett Kissel, and even Garth Brooks.

“To be recognized in the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame is beyond anything I ever imagined when I first started out,” said Wood. “This honour is really a celebration of the artists I’ve had the privilege to support, and the enduring spirit of independent country music in Canada. Stan Klees, the industry builder who this award was named after, was a friend of mine. Stan would have approved.”

Personal items from both inductees are now on display.

The 2025 CCMAs are scheduled for Saturday in Kelowna.

For more about the National Music Centre, go here.

For more about the CCMAs, go here.