Dressed to impress with disco ball cowboy hats and sequin boots, excited concert goers showed up ready for an incredible Friday night with Orville Peck at The Met. Peck came through Philadelphia on his Stampede tour with Vincent Neil Emerson and Nikki Lane as his support. Despite doors opening at the early hour of six o’clock, the floor filled early with eager fans ready to get their weekend started. Vincent Neil Emerson and Nikki Lane both accepted that challenge, filling their opening sets with their country / rock vibes.
Orville Peck | photo by Ellen C Miller
Orville Peck took the stage to the Bob Dylan song “All the Tired Horses” playing over the speakers and a theater full of excited fans cheering. He and his band eased into the set with “Big Sky.” After a few songs, Peck let everyone know that the night includes songs from all his records (not just the newest one), and that was not a lie. One could say the set included “all the fan favorites,” but it seems like every song of his is a “fan favorite.” The 90-minute performance was a gentle balance mixing his high energy, dance-worthy songs with slower, sentimental songs from his 2019 album Pony to his newest 2024 album Stampede. It was completed by serenading everyone with “Midnight Ride” over the house speakers as the crowd filed out onto Broad Street.
Orville Peck | photo by Ellen C Miller
“I like to give out roses at my shows,” Peck announced after a few songs, and he proceeded to hand out a few roses to a few lucky fans in the audience, including a nine-year-old front and center and a woman celebrating their birthday. Peck managed to connect well with his fans without it feeling like there were long breaks between songs. By mid-set, he took a brief guitar break to sit down at the piano to perform “Drive Me Crazy” which he dedicated to a truck driver named in Austin (in the audience). Later at the end of the set, he asked everyone if anyone was from Florida or Mississippi — and believe it or not, at least one person claimed both. Which was good, as it meant he could continue on with the plan to close the regular set with “Daytona Sand.” Then of course, after listening to the whole theater yell for one more song, Peck came back out for the encore in his full fringe mask to close the night out on an even higher note with “Bronco.”
Peck’s tour is on a short break this week, wrapping up next weekend with a trio of shows on the west coast. Dates and information here, see more photos from The met Philly below.
Nikki Lane | photo by Ellen C Miller
Vincent Neil Emerson | photo by Ellen C Miller
Orville Peck | photo by Ellen C Miller