Orville Peck makes queer country for everyone. On ‘Stampede,’ stars like Willie Nelson join the fun

AP Music Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — It is not easy to be an outsider in country music, but Orville Peck has made a career out of it. On his third album, “Stampede,” his spirit has led to collaborations with everyone from Willie Nelson and Elton John to Mickey Guyton and Beck. Pulling from a long tradition of country music duets and duos, citing Johnny Cash and June Carter, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris as direct influences, Peck’s “Stampede” is 15 tracks of country duets with a few surprises, like the disco number “Midnight Ride” with Kylie Minogue and Diplo. Peck says he always wanted to release a duets album but thought it would come later in his career. Then Nelson called.