1 of 3 2 of 3 Orville Peck has called many places home. Country music’s most mysterious outlaw—who never reveals his face, instead concealing his identity behind a mask even as he sings about deeply personal things—was born in Johannesburg, but grew up in Vancouver. He studied in London, and then criss-crossed continents playing punk shows and performing in touring musicals.
For six years, he didn’t have a permanent residence at all. In true troubadour fashion, he stayed with family and friends on breaks between playing shows all over the world—until he finally bought a place of his own in Los Angeles. Previously owned by John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the midcentury treehouse came with reclaimed wood furniture and a view of the Hollywood Hills.
“I’ve lived in so many different places, and they were at such different times in my life,” Peck says over the phone. “Some cities hold really beautiful, happy, formative memories to me; some cities hold hard, struggling, growing-pain memories for me. I sing about every one of them in my music, and I love them all dearly.
” He’s chatting just before he heads off on his mammoth 40-date Stampede tour, in support of his EP—and upcoming album—of the same name. He sounds relaxed and measured, more softly-spoken than you might expect after hearing the resonant baritone of his recordings. “The best part of being a touring musician is getting to go back to these places and revisit these different part.
