Hailing from Indiana, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band has always been strong on authenticity, playing music that blends blues, ragtime, folk, country and other traditional styles with the sleek modern energy of do-it-yourself, homespun, punk fueled rock. It’s a mix that’s allowed the band to win fans from all corners of the Americana and rock worlds, and introduce a new generation to blues and American roots music.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band bridges genres and eras with an intensity and effortlessness few contemporary artists possess. Their latest and fifth full-length album So Delicious – which includes Breezy Peyton on washboard and supporting vocals and Ben Bussell on drums and supporting vocals elevates the trio’s work to a new level. Produced by Rev. Peyton, So Delicious offers the band’s most diverse collection of songs buoyed by the Rev.’s supercharged six-string virtuosity – a unique style of fingerpicking inspired by his Delta blues heroes, but taken to new, original heights.
Some listeners have a hard time believing all of the Rev.’s extraordinary guitar performances are recorded live with no overdubs – until they see the Big Damn Band in concert. “Pot Roast & Kisses” is a radiant example of his nimble style, weaving two melodies, thumb plucked bass lines and bright decorative filigrees into a graceful, upbeat blend.
With a string of billboard charting albums under their belt and multiple performances at prestigious festivals such as the famed Austin City Limits, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, WOMAD, Telluride, All Good, King Biscuit, Juke Joint and Riot festivals, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band are a live act you don’t want to miss.
“When people hear So Delicious and see us play live, I think they understand that what we’re singing about is real to us,” the Rev. says. “We believe in the stories we’re telling and in the way we play. And when we’re on stage or off, there’s nothing fake about us. We are what we do, and I’m proud of that.”
Special guests for the evening will be Auckland based horn duo Hopetoun Brown. You may recognise Hopetoun Brown as the horn section who continue to light up the stage with local funk juggernaut Supergroove. The duo released their debut Top 40 album Burning Fuse through Southbound in 2015. Recorded in Lyttelton by Ben Edwards and at The Lab in Mt Eden with Olly Harmer, they’ve played relentlessly up and down the nation wowing crowds with their horn-heavy sound.
