Austin/ Toronto based blues band Lindsay Beaver and the 24th Street Wailers, have never experienced South country Fair before.

“We’ve never played the South Country  Fair before, but we’ve played the North Country Fair and if it’s anything like that it will be fun,” said drummer/ lead singer Lindsay Beaver, from a tour stop in Sioux City, Iowa.

“It’s a really relaxed atmosphere and we got to meet  some really great people like Wendell Ferguson, whose show is part music and part comedy. He’s a great musician,” she said noting the Halifax/ Toronto born band band plans to play a lot of new music during their two Southern Alberta shows in two weeks including the South Country Fair and the Wide Skies music Festival in Lethbridge the following week.

 The band has undergone  a few changes. They had to say good bye to a couple of long time members including saxophonist Jonny Wong and keyboardist Jesse Whiteley.
“ They just didn’t want to tour anymore.  They were getting burned out. It was hard for them. We’re in Austin (Beaver and husband/ bassist Mike Archer) and they have to fly down here. But we‘re still friends. I treated them as band members, not just sidemen,” she said. Guitarists Marc Doucet and Josh Fuller complete the band’s line-up, adding she was worried about continuing without a saxophone player.
“So far, so good. So far there haven’t been any complaints and we were worried about that. But we’re more of a grown up band now. The show is more about the songs and the performance and less about the schtick,” she said, adding they could have hired another saxophone player, but didn’t want to.

“There are plenty of guys in Austin we could have hired to play saxophone, but we didn’t want to. It’s still us. We still play swing and blues. I still write the tunes and book the shows,” she said.

 She also changed  the name of the band to Lindsay Beaver and the 24th Street Wailers.
“It’s easier to apply for the big, five year visa under my own name instead of having to pay for a visa every year,” she said.

She has been working on new music and plans to enter the studio on on Aug. 16 to record with a variety of Austin luminaries like Jimmy Vaughan and are setting up a crowd funding page for the project.
“ We’re going to do it anyway. Before, the band would split the cost of recording four ways, now it’s me, so this will cover some of the costs,” she said, adding she already has 10 to12 songs ready to record.

 She is excited to work with Jimmy Vaughan.
“ We’re really a blues band and I’ve been a fan of his since the Fabulous Thunderbirds, so that’s going to be a really great experience,” she said.

“ I asked him if he would record and he said yes. I don’t know what it will be like to be in the same room h as him,” she said.
“It’s been about three years since I released an album so it’s about time,” she said.
Lindsay beaver and the 24th Street Wailers play The South COuntry Fair on Saturday, July 22 at 10:30p.m. and at the Wide Skies Music Festival, at 5:30