From the Guess Who to the Weakerthans, musicians from Winnipeg have always possessed an edge that’s proved crucial in attracting the attention of the rest of the continent. Romi Mayes can certainly be included in that illustrious roll call, a singer/songwriter whose combined country soul and rock swagger has led her to be called the love child of Lucinda Williams and Joan Jett.

But one of the biggest influences on Mayes’s sound has to be the seemingly endless string of one-nighters she does each year, a circuit that takes in both North America and Europe. She is currently still touring on the strength of he latest album, Achin’ In Yer Bones, and her upcoming stop in Waterloo will mark her long-overdue debut in the area.

“From March to August is always pretty insane,” Mayes says on the eve of a highly anticipated main stage appearance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival prior to Levon Helm. “I always have to mentally prepare for it, because it seems there are consistently more and more things to organize. This year I wanted to concentrate on playing in Canada and Europe, but next year I’ll probably be hitting the U.S. harder because I’ll have a new album by then.”

An added attraction of seeing Mayes now is hearing her current backing band, led by guitarist Jason Nowicki of acclaimed Winnipeg blues rockers The Perpetrators. Mayes has previously worked with the Weber Brothers, a group that many in the local blues community know well, but she says that her musical connection with Nowicki runs deeper, based on their 20-year friendship within the Winnipeg scene.

“This lineup is the best thing I’ve ever heard coming out of me,” she says. “Adding Jay to the band has somehow made it sound exactly how I’ve always wanted it to. Jay and I grew up listening to pretty much the same stuff, and it was always my dream to be a Perpetrator. If anyone might have seen me three years ago and not seen me since, this is going to be a total surprise.”

Mayes adds that the band has given her a new perspective on her entire catalogue, so audiences are being treated to a little of everything, including previews of new material. “It all kind of just rocks now,” she says. “All of the new stuff I’m writing is a lot dirtier and heavier. So what people can expect is basically just a sweaty rock show.”

If for whatever reason anyone interested can’t make the Waterloo show, Mayes says at this point she’s planning to record her next album live.

“We’re hopefully going to do that in December in Winnipeg after we finish touring on the East Coast in the fall. We were there really for the first time for the Junos in St. John’s, so I wanted to make sure we got out there again. One of most enjoyable experiences is playing places we’ve never been before, and I’m really looking forward to coming to Waterloo.”

Live: Romi Mayes Band; Wed. July 21; Starlight Club, Waterloo; Cost: $10; Doors: 9 p.m.; More Info: 519-885-4970