It's that time of the year again. The rodeo was back in town and fringe-clad crooner, Orville Peck is hosting his biggest yet. Despite having a rough year that resulted in Orville Peck canceling a run of shows over the summer to focus on his mental health, the country singer still put on the 5th of his yearly "rodeo."
This year, the event took place in the middle of the California desert at Pappy & Harriets in Pioneertown. His once, one-day rodeo, was now 3 days, filled with skateboarding, tattoo pop-ups, drag brunches, and a gay rodeo club. Joining him for the event over the weekend were a number of artists like Margo Price, Noah Cyrus, Teddy & the Rough Riders, Dale Hollow, and "the second most famous drag queen," Trixie Mattel, with Orville Peck playing different sets each night.
I made the trek out for his Saturday showing, which would be the country singer's headlining performance for the weekend. I explored the tiny town that sits off the side of the road and checked out some of the attractions that had been set up for the rodeo, like the Zero X Liquid Death skate ramp.
Walked into Pappy and Harriets as Peck's own bassist, Kyle Connolly opened the show with his own solo performance. Following was "Hack of the Year," Dale Hollow, whose brand of country is a blend of comedy and honesty. Throughout the set, the artist would throw out jokes and quips and even served up a countrified version of Robyn's "Dancing on My Own."
Next up was classic country singer, Emily Nenni, who was backed by Teddy's band, the Rough Riders, and Amythyst Kiah. Amythyst Kiah was previously unknown to me, but following her set, I'm now a fan. Her brand of Country was equal parts Soul, Psychedelia, and Rock backed with an incredibly powerful voice.
Last support for the night came from drag queen, Trixie Mattel. She came out with a hilarious lip sync about giant "anaconda" dicks. Followed up with some wisecracks about the audience and stories about Orville Peck, while performing some acoustic tracks, some of her own and covers like Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi" and Stevie Nicks' "Landslide." Even a "Landslide" version of "Sk8er Boi" and vice-versa.
Closing out the night was the rodeo's own Orville Peck. He walked out emblazoned in a striking custom Levis outfit and jumped right into Bronco's "Daytona Sand" before taking it back to his debut album with "Turn to Hate." He continued to bounce back and forth between his two LPs and EP with tracks like the marabi-driven "Lafayette," the rarely played "Buffalo Run," and the moody "No Glory in the West." Between songs, he held his "rose ceremony" where he distributed roses to fans in the crowd that caught his attention. Whether it be by their outfit or their dedication. He brought back out Trixie Mattel to do their cover of Johnny Cash and June Carter's "Jackson" and Noah Cyrus for a tear-filled performance of "Hexie Mountains."
With time running out and the town's curfew creeping up, he had to cut a couple of songs. He finished off the set with "Dead of Night" and a sped-up version of the already fast-paced, "Take You Back." The crowd danced their last dance while blow-up ponies and dolls bounced from one side of the audience to the other.
This was my 2nd rodeo, and I can't wait to see what Orville Peck has in store for the next one. With new music on the horizon, 2024 is hopefully shaping up to be a very Peck-filled year.
