The mighty Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band takes a one-night stand at Thunder Road on Sunday, April 30.

By Jim Clark

Hailing from southern Indiana, singer-guitarist Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band has been bringing its their unique brand of traditional rootsy country blues to audiences the world over for more than a decade.

As Peyton himself tells it, “We’ve been touring full time. This will be our 11th year. We’ve played in 32 countries, and after this tour it will be as many as 36 or 37. We’ve played on four continents and 48 of the 50 states.”

On Sunday, April 30, the good Reverend & Co. return to Somerville for a show at Thunder Road highlighting songs from their latest release, The Front Porch Sessions.

While officially the band’s 10th record since their formation, The Front Porch Sessions holds a special place in Payton’s heart. “This record’s very personal for me, because so much of it is just me,” he says. “The Big Damn Band is on there, but it’s mostly me. Breezy (Breezy Peyton, the Reverend’s wife) plays washboard on a couple of songs, and Max (Maxwell Senteney, drums) plays a suitcase drum set that we put together in the studio. It’s a snapshot of the week we spent in the studio, but it also represents a lifetime of me building up to it.”

On stage Peyton plays a rusty 1930 steel-bodied National guitar, a 1934 wood-bodied National Trojan Resonator guitar and a 1994 reproduction of a 1929 Gibson acoustic. His playing style, in tandem with his bombastic vocalizing, pays tribute to acoustic blues legends of the past such as Charlie Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, Bukka White and Furry Lewis, whose When My Baby Left Me is lovingly covered on the new album. The rest of the album consists of all originals hand made by Peyton and his band mates.

The group plays upwards of 250 dates a year, and their commitment to bringing their music to the masses. “We do it the old fashioned way – or maybe it’s the new fashioned way – you play the music to people,” says Peyton. “It’s a lot of elbow grease and it’s a lot of hard work, but we believe in the music and we believe in doing it.”

“There’s a lot of stuff happening, not just with music but in terms of all entertainment,” Peyton muses. “We’re competing against video games and people’s iPads, so you have to really bring it. I’m all about making real, handmade music.”

Somerville music lovers are in for a real hand made treat as Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band rattles the timbers at Thunder Road on April 30.

Reverend Peyton and his Big Damn Band Sunday, April 30 at Thunder Road, 379 Somerville Ave., Somerville. Show: 7:00 p.m. Tickets: $15.

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We Deserve A Happy Ending:
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Rev. Peyton’s famous Shotgun Guitar Video:
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