Orville Peck

Biography

Daniel Pitout (born January 6, 1988), known professionally as Orville Peck, is a South African country musician based in the United States and Canada, widely known for often wearing a mask and not showing his face publicly.
He released his debut album Pony in 2019 followed by the EP Show Pony×Show Pony14 August 2020 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Summertime2:572No Glory in the West4:143Drive Me, Crazy5:184Kids3:225Legends Never Die3:536Fancy5:34 the next year. His second studio album Bronco×Bronco8 April 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Daytona Sand3:152The Curse of the Blackened Eye4:103Outta Time4:194Lafayette3:025C’mon Baby, Cry3:316Iris Rose2:497Kalahari Down4:508Bronco3:299Trample Out the Days3:4810Blush3:3711Hexie Mountains3:1212Let Me Drown3:2013Any Turn2:1614City of Gold4:0415All I Can Say3:56 was released in 2022. After a self-imposed hiatus in 2023, Peck released his third studio album Stampede×Stampede2 August 2024 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other3:392The Hurtin’ Kind3:063Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)4:124Back at Your Door3:325Chemical Sunset2:356Death Valley High2:417How Far Will We Take It?2:538Miénteme3:119Papa Was a Rodeo4:2010Midnight Ride3:3211Ever You’re Gone3:5212You’re an Asshole, I Can’t Stand You (And I Want a Divorce)3:1313Where Are We Now?3:3914Conquer the Heart3:0215Rhinestone Cowboy3:13 in 2024. W Magazine said that his voice is a "deep, calm bass-baritone that recalls the bygone era of Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison; [his] haunting guitar riffs drift between rockabilly, blues, and dreamy shoegazing distortions."

Early life

Peck was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and lived there until he was 15. He grew up in a mixed-race family, and is "part-white, part-Indian". As a child, he taught himself music by playing an acoustic guitar and an old Casio keyboard. His father is a sound engineer and Orville did voice-over work for cartoons and other media as a child. Growing up, he took ballet classes for 12 years and performed in musical theater productions. Peck immigrated to Canada in 2003. By his early 20s, he had been on national tours of musicals.
Orville Peck moved to London for a foundation degree in acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2014. He played Jonathan Harris/Peter Pan in the Mischief Theatre production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Apollo Theatre in 2016.

Career

Orville Peck developed his signature mask in 2018. Peck self-produced his debut album Pony at The Noise Floor recording studio on Gabriola Island, and released it in 2019 through a collaboration with Sub Pop. He has noted that he "wrote, produced and played every instrument he could" on the album while working in a coffee shop and living with his parents. In June of that year, he performed his songs "Dead of Night×Dead of Night7 December 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Dead of Night3:59" and "Take You Back" live on CBC Radio One's Q. Pony was named to the initial longlist for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize in June 2019. The album received a Juno Award nomination for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2020.
Also in 2019, Peck started an annual Orville Peck's Rodeo, which takes place in different cities across the US and brings in up-and-comers in the country music genre. He performed "Dead of Night" on Jimmy Kimmel Live on January 29, 2020. Peck announced a tour of selected cities in the United States including performances at the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals. In May 2020, he announced the follow-up to his debut album, an EP titled Show Pony×Show Pony14 August 2020 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Summertime2:572No Glory in the West4:143Drive Me, Crazy5:184Kids3:225Legends Never Die3:536Fancy5:34, with a release date of June 12, 2020. In June 2020, he announced the delayed release of Show Pony until August 14, 2020, in recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement and the George Floyd protests. Peck recorded a cover of "Smalltown Boy×Smalltown Boy29 June 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Smalltown Boy5:18" for the 2020 pride edition of the Spotify Singles series. The song was released exclusively on Spotify on June 29, 2020, and everywhere else on July 31, 2020.
In April 2021, Peck was featured on American drag queen and singer Trixie Mattel's EP, Full Coverage, Vol. 1. Peck appeared on a duet cover of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash's "Jackson". Although not credited in the liner notes for the EP, Trixie Mattel has confirmed that the whistle part in "Video Games" is Peck's whistle. In June, Peck was revealed to be the sixth artist on Lady Gaga's Born This Way The Tenth Anniversary, with Peck reimagining the song "Born This Way" in a country style.
On March 16, 2023, Peck made an appearance as a guest on the judge's panel on MTV's RuPaul's Drag Race, alongside RuPaul Charles, Michelle Visage, and Ross Mathews. In 2023, Peck was a coach and judge on My Kind of Country. On April 5, 2024, he released a cover of Ned Sublette's "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other" with country singer Willie Nelson as the lead single from Stampede, Peck's third studio album and first duets album. The single marked his first release on Warner Records. He announced a headlining North American tour, The Stampede Tour which began on May 28, 2024, in Asheville, North Carolina. In May 2024, Peck released the duet "How Far Will We Take It?" with singer Noah Cyrus, the sister of Miley Cyrus. On June 7, 2024, Peck released the single "Midnight Ride" alongside Kylie Minogue and Diplo.
On March 31, 2025, Peck made his Broadway debut as the Emcee in the revival of Cabaret at the August Wilson Theatre opposite Eva Noblezada as Sally Bowles. In 2026, he will make his film debut as Vega in the upcoming Street Fighter reboot. He made his Grand Ole Opry debut on July 21, 2026, where he performed "Dead of Night" and a cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You".

Identity

It has been speculated that Orville Peck is a persona of Daniel Pitout, drummer of the Canadian punk band Nü Sensae, based on the similarity of their tattoos and Peck's mentioning that he was in a punk band. Pitout was born in Johannesburg as was Peck. Pitout is also listed by ASCAP as the songwriter for Peck's song "Old River" and other songs which match the titles of the songs released by Peck, such as "Roses Are Falling".

Influences

In an interview with National Public Radio on June 18, 2019, Orville said: "I've never raised cattle or anything like that, but I think I've been a cowboy my whole life."
Peck strongly identifies with 1970s era country music and lists classic stars Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Bobbie Gentry, Reba McEntire, and Dolly Parton as his influences. Outside of country music, Peck has mentioned Roy Orbison, Oasis, Whitney Houston, and Lana Del Rey in addition to film directors David Lynch and John Waters as being influences.

Personal life

Peck is gay. A shirtless selfie of Peck appeared in Out in April 2024, and an interview in the July 2024 issue of Paper was accompanied by semi-nude photos.
In 2008, Pitout posed unmasked for Gayletter. He has given various accounts of how he came to adopt a mask:

In a 2019 interview with Vogue: "I just woke up one day and it was on my face, and it has always been there."
In 2020: "The only reason I don't talk about it in depth is not because I want to dodge any questions, but because I want people to have their own take on it. I don't want to lay it out and pin it down. I just don't think that's important."
In 2023: "fringed mask? I grew up loving country where there was an intersection between theatricality and very honest songwriting. Dolly's a perfect example—the big wigs, the crazy outfits, but it's her. For me, I was obsessed with the Lone Ranger, cowboys hiding their face, so that's what I wanted to do."
As of July 2024, Peck lives in Los Angeles. His home was featured in Architectural Digest in 2023.

Awards and honors

In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ pride parade, Queerty listed him among the 50 heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".
In June 2022, Peck was given the Cultural Icon Award by the Tom of Finland Foundation, "for artistic achievement and immeasurable contributions to the art and culture of our community"; the award was previously presented to Rob Halford, Henry Rollins, Clive Barker, and John Waters. The USPTO registered "Orville Peck" trademark (serial number 88665699) on June 2, 2020.