Orville Peck is ready for new beginnings – the fringes of his iconic mask have been trimmed, a new musical era with Warner Records has been announced, and duets album Stampede is on the horizon. The country star gives us a taste of what to expect with a collaboration from long-time LGBTQ+ ally Willie Nelson, Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other.
The track originates in 1981 from Ned Sublette and was famously covered by Willie Nelson in 2006 – marking the first time a mainstream country star took on LGBT+ themed material. Obviously there were several pioneering queer country acts like Lavender Country from Patrick Haggerty prior to this – a star who also duetted with Peck.
On his collaboration with Willie, Peck shares with Rolling Stone: “Willie kept talking about how the subject matter in this song was more important than ever. He wanted it to have a new life with the two of us. With all the rhetoric surrounding the LGBTQIA+ community these days, it is so encouraging to have real allies like Willie that aren’t afraid to stand proudly next to us,”
Whilst there is no confirmation of the duet partners expected to feature on Stampede – or its release date, we have no doubt that Orville won’t let us down with his choices.
