Kathy Beasley is not a particular fan of sales, the kind where people clean out machine shops or bid on property.

She just happened to drop in on one with her husband last May because they had the time and knew the people selling the property – in this case a large building that had been full of machinery along Audrain Road 823 outside of Mexico.

Beasley has long been lead singer of a classic country band called Silver Wings. It’s an informal group of fathers, sons, cousins that plays for dances and hosts an annual September jam session. But they had talked about a home, a place where they could play and invite guests to join in the fun.

“I walked into the middle of the building and got goosebumps,” Beasley said of the sale. “I said ‘this is it.’”

KB Opry & Event Center opened in September. Silver Wings holds two dances a month at the spots, playing the best of Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton and others. The dance floor has plenty of room and the décor is fitting – quilts, jugs, tired saws and such.

It’s material Beasley collected over the years in anticipation of such a venue. They even installed an outhouse (“the nicest you’ve ever seen,” Beasley observed with a laugh) for some additional old timey flair.

Of course, there’s the matter of COVID-19, which in this case proved to be both beneficial and not so much.

The property was originally scheduled to go up for bid in March on a day when Beasley had a conflict. When the pandemic forced the sale to be rescheduled, she was able to attend.

On the other hand, she said, “we couldn’t have opened at a worse time.”

Still, the band has played on, undaunted by the pandemic. And groups have rented the venue for special dances, as well.

Silver Wings have been around for a decade. Beasley sings and takes up the mandolin. Allen Ebers is lead guitar, supported by Danny Ebers and Dennis Ebers. Tony Ebers bangs the drums and is the only member who doesn’t join in on vocals. Phillip Fry — there are non Ebers in the group — plays fiddle and Tory Renner keeps the pace on bass.

“I have the best band members,” Beasley said. “Of course, I keep feeding them cinnamon rolls.”

The band plans to continue the regular schedule of dances as people begin to emerge from the pandemic. Beasley expects a regular crowd, though doesn’t anticipate more than 200 people a night. Renting the venue to groups will bring additional income.

And the space will allow Silver Wings to grow their September jam session into a scaled down and quite casual music festival.

But that’s enough.

“We have our own venue now,” she said. “This is a beautiful place.”