Orville Peck ‘s mask has been such a signature part of his artistic image as a queer country star — but over the years it’s been “evolving” and shrinking. During an interview with drag star Gottmik for the cover of Paper , Peck shared that he’s not sure what will end up happening with the mask and joked that maybe it’ll become “just a little eye patch.” “I really like evolution with artists, and I think the mask has always meant a lot to me artistically,” he said.
“But I start to become bored of it. It loses its quality for me. But I also think it can hold you back a little bit sometimes if you’re sticking with one thing.
” Peck reflected on how for each of his albums, the mask has changed. His first LP Pony featured him wearing a black mask with just holes over his eyes and fringe that hung to his chest. For LP 2, Bronco , the fringe got shorter.
And now, for his duets LP Stampede, Vol. 1 , he’s wearing a mask that simply covers his forehead and around his eyes. “I’m revealing a little more and more each time.
Not to get too deep about it, but it’s sort of a parallel with my songwriting and with just who I want to be as an artist and a person, which is to always be more vulnerable and reveal a bit more of myself through my music,” he explained. “So it’s kind of just the evolution. I don’t know where it’ll end up and I don’t know how it’ll look in the end.
I don’t make any plans about it. But I think that’s important.” A .