Most touring musicians had a bad year, but for The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, 2020 was one of its worst.
Front man Josh “The Reverend” Peyton, who brings his three-piece ensemble Saturday night to the New River Gorge Fest at ACE Adventure Resort in Oak Hill, said the year began promisingly enough with a gig on the Delbert McClinton Sandy Beaches Cruise.
“There are all of these festival cruises and they’re actually a lot of fun, but one day into the thing, I broke my thumb on the ship, which for a guitar player is a pretty bad deal,” he said.
The injury put him out of commission for almost two months.
“I couldn’t play a show, I couldn’t do nothing,” he said.
In late February, the band went back on the road for a 12-show run.
By then, COVID-19 was regularly in the news, but was still an emerging concern in the U.S. President Donald Trump had declared a public health emergency. COVID-19 infections were rising, but the government was still watching to see if the virus was turning into a pandemic.
Peyton said, “On March 3, I got sick and then everybody in the band got sick.”
They didn’t believe they had COVID-19 and finished their shows on March 11, the same day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and went home to Indiana.
Peyton and the band’s drummer, Max Senteney, were sick, but improved. Peyton’s wife, Breezy, who played washboard in the band, felt worse. She was still coughing and running a fever of 102.
“She just wouldn’t get better,” he said.
By then, a national emergency had been declared, things were locking down, but Peyton said he took his wife to the hospital.
“It was absolutely horrifying,” he said.
Peyton said the doctor ran tests on his wife but couldn’t identify what was wrong with her.
Finally, the doctor told Peyton, “Look, there’s a lot of people in this hospital who think they have the coronavirus, and I don’t think they do, except for her.”
The hospital, Peyton said, didn’t have access to coronavirus tests. The diagnosis was by process of elimination. What they knew for sure, however, was that Breezy had blood clots in her lungs.
Still, while Peyton’s wife felt bad, she wasn’t bad off. Fearing the hospital was about to fill up, Peyton said the doctor sent them home with a warning to return if her symptoms got any worse.
Her symptoms never got any worse. She stayed weak and kept a fever of 102 off and on for almost a month before recovering. During that time, southern Indiana was hit by rains and floods, Peyton said.
“We live in the most rural county in southern Indiana,” he said. “The power kept going out and the water kept coming in.”
With Breezy still sick, he was on his own.
“It was just the most lonesome I have ever felt,” he said.
As the waters subsided, his wife’s health improved and a new kind of normal settled in, Peyton said he wrote songs.
“The music just poured out of me,” he said. “It was inspiration, but it was from one of the lowest points of my life.”
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is an indie touring band. They earn most of their living from playing shows and touring. They’re regulars on the summer festival scene and play clubs all over the country.
Peyton said the lockdown was the longest he’d slept in the same bed in over 20 years. They were used to life on the road and making a living. Everyone they worked with needed to keep working. He didn’t want anyone to have to get other jobs.
“We did all the things to keep going and continue,” he said. “We did our live stream shows. We did our Patreon.”
Patreon is a crowdfunding site often used by artists and musicians who offer special content or work in exchange for levels of financial sponsorship.
“In the process of all of this, we made this new record,” Peyton added.
The songs he wrote while tired, terrified and struggling to take care of his wife and his home became the basis for “Dance Songs for Hard Times.”
“I think it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done,” Peyton said.
Breezy is better. She recovered from her illness, though Peyton said the doctor says she has scarring on her lungs.
“We don’t know how that’s going to affect her later,” he said.
But so far, she’s doing okay. Peyton said she was supposed to check back in with her doctor later in the year.
After a year away from performing in front of a live audience, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is getting back to touring, though it’s all coming back slowly. The usual spring and summer festivals are few and far between. Many of the larger events have already called off for 2021 or have pushed back to the fall.
It’s not easy. Even with the shows that they can play, the audiences are smaller because of safety and social distancing. Fewer people able to get through the door means fewer dollars they can earn.
“The money isn’t quite there,” he said.
But they’re at least moving forward.
Peyton said they were glad to be headlining the small festival at ACE Adventure. It’s a favorite stop and they’ve been to the resort several times, he said.
He and his wife are outdoor life fans, forage for wild mushrooms in their spare time and Peyton likes to fish.
“It’s a special place and it’s outside,” he said. “That felt right to us and safe.”
The singer hoped people will come back to live shows and support artists who are coming back to stages all over the country, but will also be patient as everyone moves forward.
“I hope the fans understand that there might be some restrictions and rules for a while,” he said. “But if we want live music to return, it’s not going to be like a light switch turning on. It’s going to be more like turning on a tap that begins with a trickle, turns into a stream and hopefully becomes a river.”
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