Key West The Newspaper

On Friday January 6, Rams Head Promotions presents The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band at Key West Theater, 512 Eaton Street, in what promises to be a sandal-stomping, scorcher of a debut for these innovators of Americana.

Known for keeping the hammer down to the tune of 200+ live shows a year, the ironically-named three-piece has developed a following that extends well beyond the borders of their Brown County Indiana home. The band is just off a 30-show, 5-country European tour that featured 12 festival appearances, several sold-out theaters and one big wedding.

A lifelong student of American roots and blues music styles, and a self-proclaimed disciple of country-blues pioneers like Charley Patton and Mississippi Fred McDowell, The Reverend (Josh) Peyton has always been committed to authenticity. His guitar technique is widely esteemed, not only for its it virtuosity, but for its ability to assimilate the spirits of these past masters, electrifying and invigorating their voices for a modern audience. Valuing playfulness and adventure above all, the charismatic multi-instrumentalist has innovated a way to plug in and play most anything you can lay hands on. At any time during a show he may produce an instrument built from a cigar box, or an axe handle, or a can of ham. And play it well.

The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band’s last two releases “Between the Ditches” (2012) and “So Delicious” (2015) both debuted at #1 on blues radio charts, and a forthcoming “Front Porch Sessions” release due in early-2017 spotlights Rev’s folk side. A listen to the BDB catalog quickly reveals a deep respect for tradition and hard work, a love of family and an affinity for home cooking, pickup trucks, screen doors and all things true to the midwestern Americana iconography.

As channeled through the Big Damn Band, however, the Reverend’s mostly-original sets evoke energies easily compared to blue-collar, homespun, punk-rock. Wife Breezy Peyton keeps the fire to The Rev’s feet with an aggressive attack on washboard while drummer Maxwell Joseph bangs out time for the fist-pumping faithful on little more than a stripped down kit and a pickle bucket. When the band does touch on a cover song, their imprint is so pronounced and their delivery so uniquely engaging as to redefine the number.

Taking pride in their notoriously rowdy shows and colorful audiences, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band fosters an inclusive environment at their performances. First-timers are encouraged to shed their inhibitions and holler freely alongside life-long fans. With that mindset, it may come as no surprise that The Reverend and Breezy Peyton are frequent and long-time visitors to Key West and have wholeheartedly embraced its humanist character.

A show last Halloween weekend marked the band’s first public concert on the island. The powerful impressions they made then, combined with an obvious momentum that seems to be following BDB on their globetrotting journeys, make promoters confident that this show will sell out in advance.