Kimberly Perry is enjoying her hiatus from The Band Perry to flourish as a solo artist.
“It’s been really cool to take a break. I think we — Reid [Perry], Neil [Perry] and I — have traveled together since I was 15, Reid was 10, Neil was 8. It’s a long time to be with each other but also live one identity as like siblings,” Kimberly, 40, exclusively told Us Weekly at CMA Fest on Friday, June 7. “And then over the last couple years, I’ve gotten married, Reid is married [and] Neil’s engaged.”
Kimberly married Johnny Costello in June 2021 and Reid, 35, tied the knot with Rae DelBianco two years later in May 2023. Neil, 33, meanwhile, proposed to Sofia Sclafani last month.
Kimberly and her brothers’ eponymous band released their debut album in October 2010. Nearly a decade later, the “If I Die Young” performers confirmed in March 2023 that they were taking a hiatus from the group.
“I think a break in the space has been really nice,” Kimberly said on Friday. “I also miss playing music with the boys, like, it’s what we’ve known since we were kids. I think the cool thing about music these days is you can go in all of these different directions, do what you love and let it all fall under the umbrella of Kimberly in The Band Perry, Kimberly [as a] solo [artist].”
Kimberly further teased that fans “never know” if a band reunion could be “right around the corner.” She is also ready to form a “supergroup” alongside the next generation. (Kimberly is the first Perry sibling to have kids, welcoming son Whit with her husband in August 2023.)
“I’m like, ‘Whit, when are you gonna come play guitar on stage? Then we won’t have to hire that person at least until he’s 18,’” Kimberly joked to Us about her 9-month-old son. “But even now when we do a photo shoot, I put 50 bucks in his little piggy bank because I’m like, ‘Buddy, you need to be paid for this work.’”
While Whit is too young to join the band full-time, Kimberly is focused on her “next wave of music.” She will also headline the CMT Next Women of Country tour later this year.
“It’s gonna be really fun. I’m a mentor for this year’s class of Next Women and they’re just an amazing bunch of gals bringing a few of them out with me,” she gushed, detailing the advice she likes to dole out. “I always say, ‘Pace yourselves.’ You know, it is a rollercoaster ride, this journey of professional music when it goes from being our passion to your profession.”
With reporting by Jeremy Parsons
