Hot on the heels of the first volume of Orville Peck’s Stampede (the full album dropping August 2), The Stampede Tour rolled into DC and onto The Anthem’s stage Sunday night.

And on this stop, the masked troubadour brought with him DC natives The War and Treaty and Canadian singer-songwriter Goldie Boutilier.

For those who maybe have been hiding out somewhere in the wilderness for the past five years or so, Orville Peck writes and performs the kind of country music that’s steeped in that 1950s to 1970s era twang that’s often considered the Golden Age of Country music. When I first saw him at Union Stage, he performed the George Jones and Tammy Wynette song, “Something to Brag About,” which fit right in with his own songs of love and life in The West.

Although old-style Country music might sounds passé, Orville Peck’s brand of country has seen a resurgence in recent years. And as an artist who has been open about being gay since his time as the drummer of a punk band, he has become a friendly face, if not a role model, to self-described LGBTQ artists.

Peck, who was slated to tour last year, took a break, as he told the crowd at The Anthem, to focus on his mental health. He then announced the new Stampede Tour along with the first part of his duets album of the same name. The impetus, he told the crowd, was a call from, of all people, the legendary Willie Nelson, who asked the singer to record a version of Ned Sublette’s “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other.”

Watch the official music video of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other” by Orville Peck on YouTube:

At The Anthem on June 30, Goldie Boutilier kicked off the evening. I hadn’t seen her before, but she was incredible with the kind of sound that crossed the line between Stevie Nicks and Tammy Wynette. Gouldie was followed by The War and Treaty, the duo of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, who grew up in DC but now call Michigan home. The War and Treaty have toured with some of the biggest names in country Music with a duet with Zach Bryan on last year’s self-titled record. And that brilliant song craft was on display as they put on a set that got the capacity crowd moving.

As he likes to do, Orville Peck started his set off by a recording of the Bob Dylan song, “All The Tired Horses.” The perfect set up to what became a performance that had a little bit of everything and left the audience wanting more.

“Hello, I’m Orville Peck,” the singer announced before starting off with the low baritone of “Big Sky.” There’s a pastorally cinematic quality to Peck’s delivery. That was made even more striking with the Peck’s stage set up for this tour — a half circle that changed backgrounds to sometimes give it the feeling of a sunset across a wind-swept prairie.

“Turn to Hate” is still my favorite song from Peck’s debut Pony and hearing it again, this time on a much bigger stage was thrilling. Most of the beginning of the band’s set was from that album, but things quickly moved into newer releases with “Hurtin’ Kind” and “How Far Will We Take It?”

“There are three rules at my concerts,” Orville Peck told the audience during a break in-between songs. “So the first one is you have to sing along even if you don’t know the words ’cause that’s fun for us. The second rule is if you are able to, and you would like to, please safely dance.” Pausing he continued, “And the last one is serious, though, so if you can follow this it’s much appreciated — if you feel the need to cry… you have to cry.” That personal connection Peck shows to his fans really translates to a growing and enthusiastic fan-base he lovingly refers to as Peckheads.

As with all good things the show had to end, but this was one of those shows that I wished could go on forever. A skilled showman, Orville Peck finished his regular set with the fan favorite “Daytona Sands” before returning to the stage in his older tasseled mask which he had been sporting up until recently. During this tour his mask had been akin to the look of The Lone Ranger or even Zorro, but for this encore it was a magnificently ornamented mask as he sang the classic “Unchained Melody,” finishing with the barn burning “Broncho.”

Orville Peck continues his Stampede Tour through the Fall.

The setlist included:

Big Sky
Turn to Hate
Roses Are Falling
The Hurtin’ Kind
C’mon Baby, Cry
No Glory in the West
Hexie Mountains
How Far Will We Take It?
Conquer the Heart
Drive Me, Crazy
Blush
The Curse of the Blackened Eye
Any Turn
Lafayette
Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other (Ned Sublette cover)
Outta Time
Kalahari Down
Dead of Night
Daytona Sand

Encore:
Unchained Melody
Bronco

Here are more photos of Orville Peck performing at The Anthem on Sunday, June 30, 2024. All photos copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.

And here are more photos of The War and Treaty opening for Orville Peck at The Anthem on June 30, 2024.

And here are photos of Goldie Boutilier opening at The Anthem on June 30, 2024.