Page 67 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2024 Digital Edition

meet, tour, and hang out with Hubert… talking, jamming She now leads her band on guitar alongside her husband
and hearing his stories… Magic!” And the late, great Sumlin Brad Stivers, and she says, “It’s been an interesting perspective
reciprocated her fondness and respect, once quoted saying, shift. When you spent a lot of your career as a drummer
“She’s got it! I’ve played with all of them – and she’s got it!” whose instrument is stationary, it’s very freeing to lead the
Instilling the lessons from her role models and mentors, band on an instrument that you can walk and move on stage
Boyes excels at both the acoustic and electric guitar. Of with. That’s one of my favorite parts. I feel like I can connect
Boyes, Willie “Pinetop” Perkins said, “I ain’t never seen with the audience better.”
a woman finger-pick a guitar like that since Memphis Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Beaver made her
Minnie. She’s the best gal guitar player I heard in more way to the U.S. to perform eight years ago. One of her early
than 35 years.” influences was Jimmie Vaughan, who she had the opportunity
Boyes acknowledges the challenges she’s faced as a female to open for on a few occasions. Beaver describes, “Each time
guitarist, saying, “It hasn’t always been easy commanding I saw him play, I was so inspired by his tone, phrasing and
respect as a female guitarist. I’ve had my share of back- musical ideas that I started to learn about Texas blues and
handed compliments, put downs and awkward situations, but R&B on both drums and guitar. I still consider him my biggest
thankfully that has diminished over the years. Initially I was influence as a band leader and especially as a guitar player.”
treated as a novelty, but I was determined to prove those kinds Beaver ultimately made the move to Austin, inspired by Texas’
of folks wrong!” many talented guitar players. She says, “It’s been a wonderful
Her journey underscores the importance of perseverance learning experience and has for sure defined the guitar player
and the pursuit of one’s passion. Boyes says, “Over the years I have become.”
I have stuck to the same basic ethos: I want to get to the When asked what it’s like to be a woman musician, as
next show, improve my musicianship and do my best for the an artist who has led bands on multiple instruments, Beaver
audience and those who have hired me. If you are crazy says, “It is certainly a different experience than what my male
enough to play nothing but the blues for a living for over 30 colleagues go through. I hope, as time goes on, this becomes
years, it’s got to feel vocational. It sure feels that way to me, a thing of the past.”
and to quote Hubert Sumlin, ‘I ain’t done yet!’” Though she has seen positive changes for women in the
music industry over the past few decades, Beaver envisions
Lindsay Beaver: Chords of Change a future where talent speaks louder than gender stereotypes.
To Lindsay Beaver, “Playing guitar, especially a Stratocaster She states, “I truly hope more women musicians start being
through a Vibro-King [amp], you feel about 10 feet tall.” seen as more than their gender and especially more than
For the first decade of her career, Beaver performed as a their appearance within that genre, because in my opinion,
lead singer who also played drums. She had always played there is absolutely no physical or mental difference that
guitar privately for fun, but during the pandemic, she decided would make it any more or less difficult for a woman to play
to really focus on strengthening her guitar skills in order to guitar, drums, etc. My real hope is someday we can get on
make the switch from drums to guitar publicly, which she did stage and just be guitar players; not ‘women’ or ‘female’
about two years ago. guitar players.”

Laurie Morvan: Strumming New Paths
Playing the guitar since the age of 17, Laurie Morvan
says, “Songwriting has always been, and continues to be,
the single most satisfying and main driving force in my life as
a musician. For me, everything starts with a song. The drive
to share that song with like-minded souls sets in motion all
the other aspects of my musical career: recording, touring,
promoting, running a label, booking, etc.”
Despite her passion, Morvan also met barriers of gender
discrimination. “Girls can’t play” was a refrain she encountered
early in her career, a sentiment that spurred her to take control
of her musical destiny. “I decided the best thing to do would
be to start my own band and have other musicians audition
for me,” she says. “Thus, I became my own booking agent,
hustling work for my band.”
She and her band often gigged five nights a week, traveling
to various clubs or hotel lounges – one stretch, working over
30 nights in a row! But, being on the road in unfamiliar places
left them without much to do during the day except practice.
Lindsay Beaver. Photo by Salihah Saddiq She says, “Between that and the gigs, I usually ended up

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