Orville Peck Gets Naked for Paper Magazine

Orville Peck recently exposed more of his face—and he wasn’t done.

The masked singer debuted a new fringe-less mask prior to releasing duets album Stampede Vol. 1, and now  he’s baring a lot more in a Paper Magazine cover story. Photographed in just a cowboy hat and a mask (and some strategically placed Redi-Whipp), the queer country singer and burgeoning icon proves that sometimes it really is better to save a horse and ride a cowboy. At least one this caked up.

Interviewed by his friend Gottmilk, Peck also bares some vulnerability in the story, talking openly about canceling his tour last year to focus on his mental and physical health. “I took a big break from touring and all that stuff over the last year,” he said.

“I had become really jaded and sort of disenfranchised with music and the industry and all that stuff. But I think doing an album like [Stampede Vol. 1] has made music feel fun again for me. I feel like I’m being more creative than I’ve ever been by doing this album because it’s taken me so much out of my comfort zone. Now, I’m so excited to get back to my regular solo project, but this has just been such a fun adventure to do this album. I mean, doing a disco song with Kylie Minogue? I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that.”

“Midnight Ride,” his country disco duet with Minogue, is from the upcoming Stampede Vol. 2. That album has no release date, though Peck teased that it will be this summer.

The photoshoot is an even bigger tease, showing Peck giving new meaning to “bareback” on top of a bull and paying homage to Chris Evans in Not Another Teen Movie. Orville Peck naked for Paper Magazine photos is hot enough on its own. But it’s also unapologetically queer, something that Peck has mastered over his career. But, as he points out, as the first openly gay artist signed to a major country label, he had to show up and represent in a way those who follow hopefully won’t.

“[Country] the most American genre, so it should be enjoyed by everyone, and it should also be interpreted and performed by anybody who wants to do it,” he said. “So it’s lovely to not only see more queer representation now, but just more diverse representation in general — because country is all about storytelling, so all I want to do is hear new stories. There’s nothing wrong with being a straight white man making country music. But like, babe, we’ve heard it. We’ve heard about the truck!”