The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, the Darlings

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band actually isn't that big. It's kinda like your husky pal everyone calls "Tiny." The young, modest three-piece from Indianapolis makes up for its size deficiency with a high-energy sound steeped in classic Blues tradition. With just acoustic guitar, the occasional dobro, a minimal drum kit and the always reliable washboard, the trio concocts a rousing, hyper and authentic brand of Blues that sounds like what might come out of that secret meth lab nestled deep in the backwaters of the Mississippi delta. But the pumping adrenaline doesn't take anything away from the trio's virtuosic grasp on the genre. The Rev. Peyton has a stirring voice dripping with the hallowed, life-worn distinctiveness of the masters, while brother Jayme Peyton (drums) and The Rev's wife, "Washboard" Breezy, stir up a tornadic rhythmic whirl (the Rev's acoustic guitar work is as equally frenetic and skilled). See, size doesn't matter, especially when it comes to from-the-soul, gutbucket Blues music.