Orville Peck is a new kind of country star

Within months of launching his debut album Pony in March, Orville Peck became a cult icon. It’s partly his mystique – Peck wears tasselled masks that he sews himself to conceal his face – but it’s also because he’s subverting the typical themes of beer-drinking and honky-tonks found in modern country music. The queer artist’s lyrics touch on his vulnerabilities, the men he’s loved and lost, identity and politics. He’s been featured in Vogue and British GQ and is touring non-stop, but will close out the year with a hometown crowd at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall this month.