Adding to their already impressive back catalogue, the new album from Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Honeysuckle, was released in February to great acclaim.  Known for their intense records and live shows, “the greatest front-porch blues band in the world,” the Big Damn Band is led by Reverend Peyton, who is considered to be the premier finger picker playing today. Damian Robinson caught up with the Reverend to find out more about the new release and their upcoming Cluny show.

Congratulations on Honeysuckle, it’s picking up excellent reviews and feedback

Thank you, Honeysuckle was a really different project for us in many many ways.  For one we don’t usually have guests on our record, but here we have grammy winner Vance Powell and the finest gospel music group The McCrary Sisters in the world today, to mention a few.  So this album was really new and interesting to us all.

And it’s a lot more acoustic than your recent albums

It is yes, it’s probably the most acoustic record we’ve made in years and it was all recorded in my living room.  We still use all vintage equipment which gives us, I think, our sound.  But there’s also a lot more collaborations and types of production that are new.  So when we have say The McCrary Sisters on board, it really is a dream come true. 

And your’e back on the road soon, with a considerable schedule

Yeah, I like to think that we’re a blue collar band and a working band, so we like to get out on the toad and to play.  When we do to try to work really hard and get to as many places as we can.

You’re a hardworking band on stage too Reverend, it’s a pretty non stop show

It is, but that’s what we’re here for.  I think I enjoy playing live than I do recording, so when we’re on the road we want to get in front of people and play as well as we can and then do it all again the next night.

Given there’s a new sound to your new record, how will this effect your live show?

We’ve already been woodshedding the new songs a little, and given we can’t bring any of the albums guests on tour, the songs sound a bit different to the recorded version.  Mostly this means they’re amped up a little bit but we’ve always recorded everything live so playing live isn’t a problem.  It’s just usually a lot more dynamic.  And when we’re out playing live its also good to remember that are so called tech overlords say AI will replace music and live music -so it’s always good to remind people that that’s a ridiculous thought.  The feelings from playing live, and being with others in a live community, are the things that can never be replaced.

Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band play the Cluny 6/24