Orville Peck thinks country music fans are more “open-minded” than the Nashville music industry gives them credit for.
The 36-year-old masked musician – who is openly gay – explained that while “true blue country people” are embracing his work, it’s taking time for the industry itself to catch up.
He told Billboard Canada magazine: “It’s getting a little bit better, but it’s definitely a barrier. I keep joking, after doing a song with Willie Nelson, people still want to say what I do isn’t country music.
“Message received loud and clear. People have a problem with something other than my music, and I think we all know what it is.
“It’s the same problem that people might have with Beyoncé making a country album, because a lot of people believe that country should be one thing and we all know what that one thing is.”
He pointed out that the business itself can be “difficult”, and suggested “Nashville is too afraid to see” progress among fans.
He added: “It’s really difficult sometimes. At the same time, I have gained tons and tons of fans over the years who are true blue country people.
“They’re probably not connecting to the queerness, they’re not connecting to the weird artistry, they’re connecting to the fact that I make country music.
“So I think country fans are not given enough credit for how open-minded they are. I think Nashville is too afraid to see that. I think they’re sort of starting to see it.”
Beyonce’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ country album sparked some controversy among fans, but Orville pointed out that the genre “has already been all of these different things”.
He said: “If you historically look at the origins of a lot of the instruments in country, the inspirations from African instruments, Hawaiian instruments, the inspiration taken from gospel and slave songs, there’s so much history that is just swept over.
“Especially after 9-11, there are some people who think country is about patriotism, specifically American patriotism, being white and heteronormative and living in the South. And the funny thing is, in the kind of country I love, I don’t remember those things coming up very much.
“I don’t remember the old school country being so limiting. It had more balls than that. It was adventurous and creative and diverse.”