The Dead South – Palace Theater – St. Paul MN – August 8th 2022

The Palace Theatre Presents: The Dead South, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, and Tejon Street Corner Thieves

Review and Photo by Jake Hageman

Other than a few pirate-themed folk bands, I haven’t really been to any other concerts like this one. Last night was a great evening for any music lover. All 3 bands sounded awesome, so let me tell you a little about what went down at The Palace Theatre.

The first band of the night, Tejon Street Corner Thieves, was playing right when I walked into the venue. Their music was your typical folk/bluegrass sound with heavy bass on a 4/4 beat and the banjo strumming along. It sounded pretty good to me, but visually there was nothing there. The band was just in their street clothes, and I wish they did a little bit more. The band just released a new album on May 20^th of this year titled “Thick as Thieves”.

Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band was next, and that was big a step up. They’re a three-piece American Country Blues band from Indiana. The band was very visually appealing, and they were a lot of fun to watch on stage. I found Rev. Peyton’s guitar playing super interesting because he uses his thumb to play the bass lines and his other fingers to pick different notes. He mentioned to the crowd that he doesn’t need a bass player because he has his thumb! Since they had more rock-n-roll in their sound, it made sense for them to be the only band of the night with a drummer. Reverend Peyton’s wife, “Breezy Peyton”, played the washboard which is cool to see live because you don’t see that often. She has gloves with thimbles attached, and it gives the band an interesting sound that most folk bands don’t have.

From Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, The Dead South was the final act of the night, and they did not disappoint. They’re a 4-piece string band featuring a cello, mandolin, banjo, and a guitar. One thing I really liked about their lighting was the lanterns in front of the stage. With their stage clothes consisting of suspenders, dress shirts, wide brim hats, and boots, this gave me Red Dead Redemption vibes (for all my gamers out there). I’ve said this in other reviews as well, and I’ll say it again. I love when bands actually look the part when they play. I was first introduced to this band when I heard their hit song “In Hell, I’ll Be in Good Company” which has over a whopping 319 million views on YouTube. That tune is from their album “Good Company” which came out in 2014. Another song I really like from that album is “Banjo Odyssey”, and they played that one for one of their encore songs. Overall, this was another great show at The Palace Theatre!