The Band PerryNeil Perry has opened up about his departure from The Band Perry, discussing how the familial trio has now dwindled to a far different-looking duo.
Having performed together for years, Kimberley Perry and brothers Neil and Reid Perry formed the eponymous trio in 2005, finding widespread success alongside the release of their self-titled debut album in 2010.
The record hit the US top five, and went to No. 2 on the US Country chart, while singles like If I Die Young and All Your Life topped both the Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.
Another album, Pioneer, would arrive in 2013 and improve upon the chart performance of its predecessor, though only standalone singles would arrive over the next decade, with the band entering a hiatus in 2023 with its members set to undertake solo work.
In late 2024, The Band Perry announced a reunion, though by this point, Neil had been replaced by Kimberley’s husband, Johnny Costello, ostensibly due to his plans to focus on solo work. Months later, Reid revealed his own departure, leaving the group a duo as he explored plans to venture into artist management.
Join our community with our FREE weekly newsletter
Now, following the launch of new project, Neil has taken to social media to explain how the past few years changed him, explaining that “June 2024 took something from me.”
“Something I had spent my entire life building,” he explained. “A band. A business. A family. A name.
“My sister wanted her husband to become a member of the band, taking my brother’s place. I made it equally clear that I was not okay with that. By then, the situation had become about far more than the lineup. I had witnessed instability and broken trust that fundamentally changed my ability to move forward.
“Weeks later, I was terminated,” he added. “The day after my birthday.”
As he continued, Neil explained that he had “never expected” his decision to not continue under these circumstances would mean him losing his “financial interest” along with access to “the band’s platforms, resources, and audience I had spent my life helping build".”
He followed things up the next day, sharing an additional post in which he explained more of the specifics behind the scene, noting he had “explicitly asked my sister not to misrepresent my support for the current version of the band.”
“By May of 2024, none of us were consistently on speaking terms, and Reid had stopped engaging in both personal and business matters,” he explained. “Kimberly came to me about bringing the band out of hiatus, and we initially agreed that moving forward with Reid was not something we were prepared to do.
“Kimberly reached out to him, and he confirmed he was not interested. I was then presented with three options: move forward as a duo, hold auditions or have her husband step in. I was fine with the first two, but soon understood Kimberly wanted to move forward with the third. We ultimately decided not to proceed.”
He continued:
A few weeks later, Reid rejoined the band through conversations I was not part of, and I was given three days to decide whether I would continue under those circumstances. At the end of that three-day window, I asked for a conversation the following week and was told I was out of time. I was approached again a month later, but I could not move forward under those circumstances.
At that point, I understood that continuing to tour was no longer realistically an option for me and I would soon be forced out by the 2/3 partnership agreement. What I did not agree to was losing my financial interest and access to the resources and business I had spent my life helping build.
Closing his post, Neil explained that Reid left the group shortly after The Band Perry signed a new label deal. “What remained is my sister and her husband,” he added.
Since his departure, Neil has been focusing on solo work, including the nascent WOLVESofJUNE, which released their debut single, TNT, just last month.
