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Orville Peck makes queer country for everyone. On ‘Stampede,’ stars like Willie Nelson join the fun

Published

2 years ago

July 30, 2024

Orville Peck makes queer country for everyone. On ‘Stampede,’ stars like Willie Nelson join the fun

NEW YORK (AP) — It is not easy to be an outsider in country music, but Orville Peck has made a career out of it.

On his third album, “Stampede,” his nonconformist spirit has led to collaborations with everyone from Willie Nelson and Elton John to Mickey Guyton and Kylie Minogue.

When the South African musician released his debut album, “Pony,” in 2019, little was known about him. A country crooner with a deep baritone more in line with outlaws like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings than anything on contemporary radio, Peck hid his identity (Peck is a pseudonym) and his face behind a mask.

A wide strip of leather completely obscured his forehead down to the nose bridge; the rest of his visage was concealed underneath a large Stetson and a foot of cascading fringe. As his public prolife rose and he continued to release new music, Peck started slowing stripping back the mask. Now, as he prepares to release “Stampede,” a duets album, only the hat and eye mask remain.

“I think it’s sort of in parallel with my confidence,” he says. “When I first started — my first album — I really needed the mask.”

It takes some self-assurance to release a duets album. Each song is a brand-new collaboration, a previously unexplored creative experiment, and a balancing act. “Every single song is me, 50%, and then 50% the other artist,” he says. “It’s a long tradition in country to do duets and have sort of duos. You know, I think of Johnny Cash and June Carter, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris,” he says, suggesting that this kind of album would arrive later in his career.

“But then when Willie asked me to do (the song) ‘Cowboys,’ it was like, ‘Oh, is this maybe the right moment?’ And so, then I asked Elton, and then I asked Kylie, and then, you know, so on, so forth.”

A dream get that didn’t work out? Dolly Parton.

In the case of Nelson, Peck is referring to the 1981 queer country cult classic, Ned Sublette’s “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other,” covered by Nelson in 2006 and an infrequent staple of Peck’s live show. When Nelson and Peck played a festival together a few years ago, the country legend invited Peck onto his tour bus for a cup of coffee and suggested they re-do the song as a duet. He told Peck, “It’s more important now than ever,” Peck recalls.

“I think the fact that he wanted to do this particular song with me, and the fact that his reasoning behind it was in support, and motivated in the encouragement of LGBTQ people, I mean, it’s like the most validating thing ever.” Later, they’d film a music video for the duet at Nelson’s Luck Ranch in Texas.

Across “Stampede,” too, are non-traditionalist duets and covers. There’s “Papa Was a Rodeo,” a bluegrass cover of the Magnetic Fields’ indie rock song, now with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. There’s an ode to Sin City, “Death Valley High,” with Beck, who told the AP the song was inspired by “Elvis in Vegas is, you know, Vegas by way of Memphis. It’s a totally different thing from Sinatra Vegas.”

There’s also “Midnight Ride,” a disco number with Kylie Minogue and Diplo, which the trio debuted live during a Pride event in Los Angeles in June.

“I’ve learned over the years how important visibility is,” Peck says, “Bringing something that’s really joyful and inclusive.”

A kind of outsiderness is where Peck feels home. “Country radio — country with a capital C — it’s sort of its own thing,” he says. “You got to do a lot of kissing babies and shaking hands to kind of play the Nashville game. And it’s just something I’ve never been interested in doing.

“I just want to have my music and my art speak for itself, and I don’t feel like I need to go kiss asses in Nashville to be accepted and be validated,” he continued.

“I know how country I am. I get to work with incredible legends like Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, all these people that I grew up idolizing, that love me. So, you know, that’s enough validation for me. And if I’m not on top 40 radio on country music, you know, that’s fine with me.”

___

Writer Krysta Fauria contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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World

Video: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers

Published

4 hours ago

March 28, 2026

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Video: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers

new video loaded: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers

In a last-ditch effort, rescuers were at last able to free a 40-foot humpback whale that had been stuck in shallow waters near the coast of Germany for four days.

By Axel Boada

March 27, 2026

World

Russian man who assaulted woman during Barron Trump FaceTime call sentenced to 4 years

Published

5 hours ago

March 28, 2026

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Russian man who assaulted woman during Barron Trump FaceTime call sentenced to 4 years

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A Russian man convicted of assaulting a woman in London in an attack witnessed by Barron Trump, President Donald Trump’s youngest son, on a video call was sentenced to four years in prison by a London court on Friday.

Matvei Rumiantsev, 23, an MMA fighter, was convicted by a jury on Jan. 28 of assault with bodily harm but was acquitted of rape and choking charges. He was also convicted of perverting the course of justice stemming from a letter he sent the woman from jail asking her to retract her allegations.

After the assault, Rumiantsev admitted he was jealous of his girlfriend’s friendship with the 19-year-old son of President Donald Trump.

BARRON TRUMP REPORTEDLY SAVED WOMAN’S LIFE AFTER WITNESSING VIOLENT ASSAULT ON FACETIME CALL

Barron Trump attends inauguration ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool/Getty Images)

“Your lack of insight and empathy was apparent at trial,” Justice Joel Bennathan said. “You continue to try to blame the complainant for everything that has happened.”

Trump told investigators he had placed a late-night FaceTime call to the woman, whom he had met on social media, and had been startled when the call had been briefly answered by a shirtless man on Jan. 18, 2025.

“That view lasted maybe one second and I was racing with adrenaline,” Barron Trump said. “The camera was then flipped to the victim getting hit while crying, stating something in Russian.”

BARRON TRUMP SPOTTED ON NYU CAMPUS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE INAUGURATION

Barron Trump looks on ahead of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, 2025. (KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Barron Trump called the police in London.

“It’s really an emergency … I’m calling from the U.S., uh, I just got a call from a girl, you know, she’s getting beat up,” he told an operator.

Police responded to the address and arrested Rumiantsev, a London-based receptionist.

At his trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Rumiantsev was acquitted of rape and choking related to the attack, as well as a separate rape and assault allegation from November 2024.

His attorney, Sasha Wass, said that Trump wasn’t aware the woman had a boyfriend and questioned how much he could have seen in just a few seconds of video.

Barron Trump watches as his father, President Donald Trump attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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Trump never testified in the case. However, the judge praised him for his quick-thinking actions.

“Mr, Trump properly and responsibly, despite being in the United States, made sure the emergency services here were called, and he told them what he had seen,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

World

EU Parliament unblocks key political hurdle in digital euro talks

Published

6 hours ago

March 28, 2026

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EU Parliament unblocks key political hurdle in digital euro talks

Published on
27/03/2026 – 17:47 GMT+1

EU lawmakers have overcome a key political hurdle in the negotiations of digital euro, making the project closer to approval, according to a draft text seen by Euronews.

The Parliamentary rapporteurs involved in the legislation have found an agreement on the design of the digital euro, which will be able to function both online and offline.

The digital euro would be an electronic form of cash issued by the European Central Bank, designed to sit alongside banknotes and the payments services offered by commercial banks.

It has taken on new political weight as economic tensions between the EU and the US sharpen the debate over Europe’s reliance on American payment giants, such as Visa and Mastercard.

Under the European Commission’s proposal, digital euro users would have a wallet for both online and offline payments, with transactions designed so they are not trackable.

The situation in Parliament changed on Wednesday evening, when the centre-right politician Fernando Navarrete, who is the leading rapporteur on the file, announced the withdrawal of his position to reduce the scope of the digital euro to offline use only.

His position blocked the advancement of negotiations for months, jeopardising the whole legislative process, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations.

The political deadlock has pushed EU leaders to accelerate progress on the digital euro. At the European Council meeting on 19 March, they set a goal to have the digital euro legislation approved by the end of 2026.

With the Council, representing EU countries, having already adopted its position, the European Parliament is now the only institution left to advance the law.

“Thanks to our amendments and firm stance, we have finally broken the political deadlock on the digital euro. The distinction between online and offline has been removed, and it is now established as a single payment system,” Pasquale Tridico, the rapporteur for The Left, told Euronews.

However, lawmakers still need to agree on two key aspects: the “hold limits” and the “compensation.”

The hold limits determine the maximum amount a user can store in a digital euro wallet, while compensation sets out a model for reimbursing commercial banks that provide digital euro services.

Although negotiations are not yet complete, the text is expected to be voted on in the Parliament’s economy committee before the summer, according to a source familiar with the matter.