Country superstar Willie Nelson, 91, has sung his gay cowboy anthem with Orville Peck live for the first time.
Gay masked cowboy Peck, who has worked with Trixie Mattel, Kylie Minogue and Elton John, performed “Cowboys Are Secretly, Frequently Fond of Each Other” alongside Nelson at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, in Texas, on Sunday (13 October).
The song, about a gay romance, was released to coincide with hit film Brokeback Mountain storming the Oscars in 2006 – the same year it was first played on US radio, despite being written 25 years earlier.
Peck told festival-goers that the anthem inspired his album Stampede. “Someone asked me if I wanted to do a duet with him, and he’s from right here in Texas,” he told the cheering crowd.
Human rights supporter Nelson initially released the anthem to support his manager David Anderson, who had come out in 2004.
Anderson said: “This song obviously has special meaning to me in more ways than one. I want people to know more than anything – gay, straight, whatever – just how cool Willie is and … his way of thinking, his tolerance, everything about him.”
Nelson’s version of “He Was A Friend of Mine” features on the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack. The film won three Academy Awards, including the coveted best director gong for Ang Lee.
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