Events

[ROCK] It doesn’t get much rootsier than a band playing a mix of homemade instruments and depression-era guitars. The joke’s on us, though, since the “big damn band” is only sizable in the sound it makes – Rev Peyton and company are a trio. A trio that, as it turns out, almost never happened. After playing a party following his high school graduation, The Reverend – a happily grinning beardo usually in overalls named Josh Peyton – was told he’d permanently injured his fretting hand and would never be able to play guitar again. A second opinion, followed by surgery to remove scar tissue, put him back in full capacity a couple years later and he’s never looked back. After meeting his wife-to-be, Breezy, and a first date at the Indiana State Fair, she took up the washboard, which she’s known to play wearing a pair of golfing gloves that have thimbles attached, resulting in a very unique sound. They’re joined by drummer Matt Senteney, whose kit includes a five-gallon bucket. The band’s joyful exuberance and admirable work ethic has made them a draw at festivals, including Telluride, Bonnaroo and ACL. Their self-released latest, The Front Porch Sessions, came out last month with some distribution help from Thirty Tigers, and it features mostly new originals alongside a cover of Memphis blues legend Furry Lewis’s “When My Baby Left Me.” It’s a bit quieter than past releases and finds Senteney sometimes playing a suitcase instead of a drum (or a bucket) to achieve a hushed, front porch feel. Perhaps he’ll bust it out at the Tralf Music Hall when Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band plays on Tuesday, May 2 with Uncle Ben’s Remedy in the opening slot.