Orville Peck Releases Collaborative Cover With Willie Nelson

Fans of the masked alt-country music star Orville Peck thought he was joking when he revealed that he and Willie Nelson teamed up for a duet on Monday (1 April).

But it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke. After sharing a teaser for their collaborative cover of Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other, Peck quoted a song lyric in a brand-new Instagram post.

Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other, originally written by Latin country songwriter Ned Sublette in 1981, was performed and released by Willie Nelson in 2006, following the release of the film Brokeback Mountain.

In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Nelson said about the song’s eventual release, “The song's been in the closet for 20 years. The timing's right for it to come out. I'm just opening the door.”

Nelson and Peck’s version of Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other is out now - check it out below.

In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Peck - an openly gay artist - described working with Nelson like so:

Just getting to be around Willie is so special. You’d think he would make you starstruck because he is such a legend, but he just emanates joy.

It was his initial idea for us to do the song together, and I will forever be grateful for his support. As an artist who has sometimes felt excluded from the Country music industry, once Willie Nelson wants to work with you, there’s really nothing the country world can say after that.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Orville Peck (@orvillepeck)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Orville Peck (@orvillepeck)

Listen to Nelson’s version of the song below.

Peck’s last album was the 2022 LP, Bronco. It was nominated for Country Album of the Year at the 2023 Juno Awards and was longlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize. Bronco followed his debut album Pony (2019) and EP Show Pony (2020).

Meanwhile, Willie Nelson announced the release of his 75th album, The Border, last month. The ten-track album is set to land on Friday, 31 May. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.