By Leila Nunez
(SOUNDBITE OF “CHASING DOWN A VISION” – BAIL BONDS)
RICHIE RODRIGUEZ, BYLINE: Hey, everyone, this is Richie Rodriguez with the Daily Forty-Niner and today we’re doing a special episode for OUTober, where I’ll be talking about a topic that pertains to the LGBTQIA community. So who’s heard of Orville Peck?
Well, if you haven’t, you’ll be introduced to him and his music today. First off, he is a gay country singer. That’s right. And not only does this make him a stand out among the country music scene, but his trademark brand is that he wears a mask with fringe at all times when he’s either in public or while performing. It’s nothing new by music artists who wear masks think of Dead Mouse or even Daft Punk. They also wore masks and made it a point to create an air of mystery and to their identity and leave much to the imagination, to their fans.
The same can be said about Orville. His music, though, is what sets him apart for me. These are my top three songs that I have on a playlist but let’s be honest, I have all three of his albums on repeat almost every day.
Each song is from a different album because to me it all seems like a different sound and really an evolution of Orville. I first heard his music when I was watching Euphoria. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, but this episode is about Orville Peck, not Euphoria. That can maybe be another episode.
The song Dead of Night is from his first studio album, Pony. And this starts off really slow. And as it progresses, you get to really experience Orville’s true prowess as a country singer and his talented vocal ability. The range he has is quite remarkable.
(SOUNDBITE OF “DEAD OF NIGHT” – ORVILLE PECK)
His EP show Pony has some good hits as well. I went to see him in concert back in April in San Diego, and it honestly was one of the most entertaining shows I’ve been to in a long time.It was a lot of energy and it was also outside and it was a really small venue, so I got to really experience him up close and personal. I also paid VIP, so that was a lot of money for a ticket.
One of his songs, Summertime to Me, is sort of a love ballad to a person that he misses and hasn’t seen in months. And I can relate to that.
(SOUNDBITE OF “SUMMERTIME TO ME” – ORVILLE PECK)
His latest album, Broncos. Honestly, such a transformative record. And one of the few that I can listen to with zero skips. It has more of a contemporary sound to it, and the people that I’ve introduced to his music all agree that this sound is a hybrid of country, rock, eighties and blues.
The song The Curse of the Blackened Eye showcases his vocal range to me, both the lows and the highs. He absolutely slays in this track, and it’s just one that I have on repeat almost every time of the day. It’s actually my top song right now. I just checked on Apple Music.
(SOUNDBITE OF “THE CURSE OF THE BLACKENED EYE” – ORVILLE PECK)
So that’s Orville Peck. I really encourage everyone to give him a listen, and I’m sure that you’ll be enjoying him as much as I do.
All of his albums are available to stream on Apple Music. Give them a listen. I think that you’ll find that you’ll be hooked, just like I was when I first started to listen to him.
(SOUNDBITE OF “CHASING DOWN A VISION” – BAIL BONDS)
