Orville Peck does holiday music in his own way.
Peck, 36, spoke with PEOPLE at Christmas in Little Big Town at the Opry event in Nashville on Oct. 4 about recording his new Christmas song, “Happy Trails,” despite never thinking he’d make a holiday song. “I usually don’t like holiday music,” he admitted.
The country singer added, “But I like a lot of sad Christmas songs, so I wanted to do a very classic sound, almost like Bing Crosby’s lonely Christmas song about being away from the person you love on Christmas.”
In the melancholic tune, Peck wishes his loved one a “happy journey ahead” as he mourns not being with her. The lyrics also have a sense of hope, despite Peck stressing that “nothing is easy and love is hard to find.”
“Just finding it once is worth all the attempts,” he sings.
Orville Peck and Willie Nelson Team Up for New Version of ‘Cowboys Often Secretly Love Each Other’
In his real life, Peck will spend the holidays with someone special. He shared that he and his partner fly somewhere on Christmas every year. “It’s kind of a new tradition to spend Christmas in an airport or on a plane,” he said. “It’s actually quite magical in a weird way — so empty and super quiet. So he’s pretty sweet.”
This year they are traveling to India. “I’m so excited we’re going everywhere,” he said.
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Peck’s childhood holidays also defy traditional holiday expectations. Growing up in South Africa meant that his childhood Christmases fell on “one of the hottest days of the year” during the summer. “We would make presents and then swim in the pool all day,” he said. “So it’s a little different than here in North America.”
Meanwhile, the performer had a big year. Not only was he honored with a GLAAD Vito Russo Award in August, he also released his third studio album based on the duet, Stampedewhich includes stars such as Willie Nelson and Elton John, whom Peck said he had “idolized all his life”. He added: “I just couldn’t believe they wanted to work with me too.”
Orville Peck in Los Angeles in April 2023.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Orville Peck ‘refused’ to quit despite people ‘laughing in my face’ for being an openly gay artist (Exclusive)
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2023, Peck revealed what it was like starting out in country music as an openly gay man. “A lot of people practically laughed in my face,” he said at the time. “But I just kept my head up and didn’t let anyone tell me I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. If someone tells me I can’t do something, it makes me want to do it even more.”
The country singer also revealed the meaning behind his signature fringed mask. Rather than cultivating character, he said, the mask speaks to the theatricality of the country. “I grew up loving country where there was an intersection between theatricality and very honest songwriting,” he said.
Peck added: “I was obsessed with the Lone Ranger, the cowboys who hide their faces, so I wanted to do that. I wanted to mix really vulnerable personal music, which is what I write, with this theatricality and performance.”
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Source: HIS Education