The Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band

The first time I had the pleasure of seeing the delta blues trio that is the Reverend's Big Damn Band, we were 10,000 feet high in the Rocky Mountains on the edge of the original South Park, in the parlor of a hotel/restaurant that prided themselves in their “oysters.” It was an oddly pristine setting for a steel guitar, washboard, trap-kit outfit that tells the stories of pappy getting bounced from shows for getting too drunk, and watching cousins get shook down on COPS. The wide-eyed Reverend fronts the band with a booming, bayou-infected message that will have you begging for baptism. His wife, Breezy, sports Freddy Kreuger hands behind the washboard, with brother Jayme on drums. Indiana-bred swamp rock has never tasted so good. With Jason Webley. CHRIS KORNELIS

Listen to a sample of The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band's "Old Man Boogie."