Orville Peck Opens Up On His Journey As An Openly Gay Country Musician 

Since Orville Peck released his first album, "Pony," in 2019, he has become popular among fans for his unique country sound, unpredictable lyrics, and use of fringed masks to hide his identity. Many fans have tried to figure out his true identity, but Peck has insisted that they can only know the real him through his music.

With a unique sound that has been compared to Elvis Presley's, Peck is currently on a world tour to promote "Bronco," his second album. Though he wears many masks, the openly gay star doesn't see a need to hide his sexuality.

"I've been out since I was little," he noted in an interview at the Arlington Theatre. He said he was fortunate to be accepted, "protected and loved" by his family. In an interview with Variety, he spoke more about his journey as a gay country artist.

Keep scrolling to find out what he had to say.

Peck spent 15 years in South Africa before moving with his family to Toronto. He was also trained in a ballet school and appeared once in a play in London. However, these were short-lived since his dream was to become a country musician.

While they love his songs, fans believe that most of them were inspired by heartbreaks and failed relationships. He confirmed this by noting that a massive part of "Bronco" was inspired by heartbreak. He'd just left a relationship, so he felt "depressed" and "uninspired." So I forced myself to go into the studio every day for six to eight hours and work on new music."

He also talked about how inspired he was by cowboys and the country style. "I saw them as these outwardly facing strong figures, but inwardly they were really sensitive and sort of heartbroken and maybe lonely." He added, "but that was their power and their strength, rather than their weakness."

Peck said in the interview that "All [he] ever wanted to do was be a country singer." He said, "I finally got the courage when I was in my 20s to put all of the things I love together and just do the dang thing."

He showed how much he loved mainstream country when he paired with country-pop star Shania Twain in 2020 on "Legends Never Die." Per Variety, Twain complimented Peck's voice and personality. "There's something very rich about his voice that makes you want to hear more. When you hear Orville Peck sing his first word of any song, there is no question that it's Orville Peck," she said.

Peck appreciated Twain for her comments. He said, "I started to receive many messages and letters from gay and trans and queer fans. They would send me really beautiful, heartfelt messages saying, 'I live in Arkansas,' or 'My father was a famous rodeo star….'" That is what makes me feel really good about my visibility. It is a big focus of mine mostly because I now know how important it is to people who maybe didn't have the same experience that I had."

When asked about his struggles as a queer country artist, Peck insisted that it wasn't as hard as people thought. "I have definitely received my fair share of reluctance, skepticism and aggression because I'm a gay man in the country world," he said. "But I would say that it's far less than I think people would maybe imagine."

He also noted how happy he was that the country music space included many more queer people. Artists like Ty Herndon, Chely Wright, Billy Gilman, and Brandi Carlile have come out as queer country artists over the years.

"We've always been there, but a lot of us are now more kind of in the mainstream," Peck said. "It's just a matter of time that that slowly chips away at the belief systems that some of these country fans have in place, these kind of maybe bigoted ideas."

"I think if we keep our heads held high and we keep together and we keep doing what we're doing and being authentic," he continued, "I like to believe that it will hopefully not only change the landscape of country music, but it'll also help change the cycle of racism and homophobia."

In 2021, CMT host and openly gay man Cody Alan spoke about the future of queer country music artists. He noted how proud he was of Peck and said, "I think the future is so bright for Orville. One step leads to another, and we're going to have more country artists who are out as queer from day one."

At the moment, many fans can't wait to see Peck live as he continues his concert tour, which ends in August. It includes a spot in Pasadena at Goldenvoice Palomino Festival in July. Many fans have also asked whether he plans to take off his mask, but no clear answer has been given yet.

He, however, revealed that he's making plans for a third album. "I have written one song for it," he said, "It's the first love song I've ever written. I've never written about being in love. I've only ever written Julia Johnson/Sony Music about heartbreak."