Peck Drops 'Mule,' Reveals Overdose Hours Before MSG Show — SkimNews
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- Orville Peck released his fourth studio album 'Mule' on Friday — 12 tracks plus a prologue chronicling his drinking, drug use, and recovery, including a track called 'Rehab Blues.'
- Peck overdosed in his hotel room hours before his June 20, 2023 Madison Square Garden show, then took a contractual Patron shot on stage before announcing he was canceling his 'Bronco' tour and entering rehab the next morning.
- Peck makes his headlining debut at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday, the same day as the album release, weeks after debuting 'Mule' in full during a two-night run at San Francisco's Castro Theatre.
- On 'Ring the Bell,' Peck sings 'I love the Lakers, the Mets and the Longhorns, made out with a guy on the Raiders' — and tells Variety he got permission from the unnamed pro athlete, who was 'very, very honored.'
- The article notes Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to publicly come out as gay while playing for the Las Vegas Raiders in June 2021; Peck declines to confirm or deny Nassib was the makeout partner.
- Peck, never seen in public without a Western-styled mask, has collaborated with Kylie Minogue, Shania Twain, Noah Cyrus, and Willie Nelson — and made his Broadway debut as the MC in 'Cabaret.'
Why it matters: Peck's 'Mule' reframes his near-fatal 2023 overdose as artistic fuel while dropping a kiss-and-tell lyric about an unnamed Raiders player who was 'very, very honored' to be mentioned — giving queer country music its highest-profile gay-celebrity hookup disclosure. The simultaneous Hollywood Bowl debut marks his arrival as both survivor and genre trailblazer.
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