Neil Perry Opens Up: How a Family Band Became His ‘Life’s Work’ Lost

Neil Perry – the youngest of the trio that once filled country‑radio waves as The Band Perry – finally let some of the private turmoil spill out onto his TikTok feed. In a video posted on Thursday, September 17, the 36‑year‑old singer‑songwriter paired a short clip of an untitled track from his fledgling solo project, Wolves of June, with a caption that read, “Some families play board games. Others take each other’s life’s work.”

It’s a line that feels both witty and wounded, hinting at the raw emotions behind a split that has been brewing for months. Back in August, Perry took to Instagram to say that June 2024 had “taken something from me. Something I had spent my entire life building. A band. A business. A family. A name.” He went on to explain that his sister Kimberly’s decision to bring her husband, Johnny Costello, into the group – effectively pushing his brother Reid out – was the final straw.

“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,” he wrote. “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.”

The fallout, Perry says, was swift and brutal. Just weeks after the disagreement, he was “terminated” – the day after his birthday, no less. He claims that the termination stripped him not only of his role onstage but also of any financial interest and access to the band’s platforms, resources, and the audience he’d helped build from the ground up.

Neither Kimberly Perry nor Johnny Costello have publicly responded to Neil’s accusations, and attempts by US Magazine to reach them went unanswered. Reid Perry, who exited the group earlier in 2025, has also stayed silent on the matter.

Despite the heartbreak, Neil says he’s channeling the pain into music. “I watched a story emerge that didn’t resemble the one I lived. The anger became music. The grief became songs. The loss became freedom,” he continued in the TikTok caption. “June 2024 took the old life. @wolvesofjune is what came next.”

Fans of The Band Perry will recall the group’s meteoric rise in 2010 with the haunting ballad “If I Die Young,” a track that lingered on the Billboard Hot 100 for over a year and earned the trio two ACM Awards and a Grammy nomination. After a hiatus beginning in 2022, the siblings reconvened in 2025, only to see the lineup reshuffle that eventually led to Neil’s departure.

Kimberly, meanwhile, appears to be embracing her own solo chapter. On the Bobby Bones “Bobbycast” podcast she reflected on the decades spent on the road with her brothers, describing the need for a “spiritual health break” and a “mental health break” after years of constant touring.

As for Neil, the next steps remain partially shrouded. The snippet he shared hints at a darker, more introspective sound under the Wolves of June moniker. He hints that the music will serve as both catharsis and a fresh start – a way to reclaim the narrative that feels, to him, stolen.

Whether the family can ever stitch the rift back together is unclear, but one thing is certain: the story of The Band Perry is no longer just about chart‑topping hits. It’s also about sibling bonds tested, broken trusts, and the messy reality of mixing business with family.