Photos by Andy Argyrakis

There’s no artist on earth that sounds quite like Orville Peck, although he’s probably the closest anyone’s ever come since Chris Isaak to reviving the bygone era of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, but with a decidedly country flavor.

Considering he’s out and proud as a gay man in a genre without too much representation also makes the singer, songwriter and actor one of the biggest blazers of that trail subsequent to “Brokeback Mountain” making bank at the box office.

Alongside a Lone Ranger mask, some occasional facial fringe and massive muscles accompanying a standard cowboy hat or baseball cap, Peck is becoming quite the ear and eye candy thus far this decade, drawing a diverse audience capable of selling out giant clubs all across America.

The Salt Shed was one of stepping stones on the way to the arenas likely appearing in his future, and like the greats, the mystery man has a magnetic presence already attracting duet partners as prominent as Willie Nelson, Elton John, Shania Twain, Kylie Minogue and Shaboozey.

In fact, a pennant bearing Nelson’s name and a photo of the late Dolly Parton hung in the old time saloon furnishings adorning the stage, which found the six-piece band gathering around the replica bar portion prior to Peck joining them.

Once he did, they tore through “Big Ol’ House” and “Already Gone” off the fresh and mighty “Mule” album like a wrecking ball, continuing to kick up loads of dust during “The Hurtin’ Kind” and “Turn To Hate.”

“Rehab Blues” and “Ring The Bell” vulnerably peeled back the curtain on the headliner’s journey to sobriety, while having nearly two hours of time available allowed him to revisit tracks that hadn’t been played recently, such as “Legends Never Die.”

The husky baritone traded the guitar for a seat behind the piano come “Drive Me, Crazy,” plus unplugged for a seated, campfire-styled set comprised of “The Breeze, The Grass, The Mourning Dove And Me,” “Hexie Mountains” and “My Side Of The Mountain.”

Peck briefly touched on his sexuality before the cheeky “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other,” then crooned Liza Minnelli’s “Maybe This Time” in honor of playing the Emcee in Broadway’s “Cabaret,” rocked out to “Daytona Sand,” returned for the haunting “Dead Of Night” and closed with the southern swinger “C’mon Baby, Cry,” suggesting there wasn’t anything this totally new kind of cowboy couldn’t corral.

For additional information on Orville Peck, visit OrvillePeck.com.

For a list of upcoming Live Nation concerts, visit LiveNation.com.

Upcoming shows at The Salt Shed include Charles Wesley Godwin (Nov. 12); Palace (Nov. 13); The Menzingers (Nov. 14); Slow Pulp (Nov. 19); Fetty Wap (Nov. 20); Death Cab For Cutie (Nov. 21); Sabaton (Nov. 24); Daily Bread (Nov. 27-28); Angine de Poitrine (Nov. 29-30); Svdden Death (Dec. 18); Ratboys (Dec. 19) and Greensky Bluegrass (Dec. 30-31). For additional details, visit SaltShedChicago.com.

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