Thu 6/2 @ 8PM
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is actually a small band — a mere three musicians out of rural Indiana, but they make a big damn noise. Honed by years on the road, the group has been touring relentlessly for the last decade or so, playing their raw country blues with a liberal dose of punk-rock spirit. While there’s a wild and witty streak in their music that could be taken as tongue-in-cheek, there’s also a deep connection to and respect for the vernacular music they play.
Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter “Reverend Peyton” and his washboard-playing wife Breezy make up the band’s core, with Peyton doing his virtuoso picking vintage ’30s guitars and a three-string cigar box guitar, and Breezy and drummer Ben Russell providing percussion on washboard and a small drum kit that includes a plastic bucket.
The band’s fifth album So Delicious, was released in January 2015. This year Peyton has released another solo album, The Front Porch Sessions, a stripped-down collection of acoustic blues by legends like Blind Willie Johnson, Bukka White and Charley Patton as well as his own new, old-sounding acoustic blues material. It reflects his nearly life-long fascination with traditional country blues.
While the band will play its usual revved-up tunes, their upcoming show at the Kent Stage will also include a “front porch” set featuring Peyton playing those old blues tunes with a front-porch backdrop and props, telling the stories behind the songs as he plays them. Tickets are $17 in advance, $20 at the door.
thekentstage.com/reverend-peytons-big-damn-band/
Kent, OH 44240