Orville Peck Praises Gay Cowboys and Willie Nelson at Austin City Limits

Orville Peck, the rising country star, paid tribute to Willie Nelson and the LGBTQ+ community during his set at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Sunday.

"So not only did Willie Nelson want to do a song with me," Peck told the crowd at Zilker Park, "He wanted to do a song about gay cowboys." Peck's recent duets album "Stampede" features the Austin legend. He dedicated the song "Cowboys Are Secretly Fond of Each Other" to "all the little, gay Texan cowboys and cowgirls."

Willie Nelson, 91, was not physically present but was honored in spirit.

"He almost sounds like Johnny Cash. He’s got it down," a shirtless fan commented between songs at the Honda stage. Indeed, Peck's powerful baritone voice captivates audiences.

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Peck's emotional performance included the song "No Glory In the West":

"What’s a boy to do? Hit the road with a dollar or two? Haunted by what he knows he can’t do?"

Peck's backstory adds depth to his music. He's an openly gay Dior model from South Africa who wears a Lone Ranger-style mask in public. This anonymity allows him to be vulnerable, such as discussing his battle with depression before performing "Hexi Mountains", a song about the experience.

Clad in a sparkly red-and-yellow vest, Peck was backed by five talented musicians. His emotional honesty was evident in lyrics like:

"Maybe you’ll learn to live with what’s inside your head."

Peck encouraged the audience to embrace their emotions: "If at any point you feel like crying, you have to cry."