Orville Peck - Hope To Die

What this video is

Released June 13, 2019, 'Hope To Die' arrives at the apex of Orville Peck's masked-outsider mystique, situating itself within a 2010s queer reclamation of country and Americana iconography. The video draws explicitly on a tradition of gay erotic cowboy imagery—referencing a 1969 Jim French illustration—transforming the hyper-masculine Western archetype into a tender, homoerotic tableau. Its premiere via Vogue…

Why it matters

A landmark artifact of the queer country revival, 'Hope To Die' and its video demonstrate how indie country artists in the late 2010s recontextualized Western iconography through an explicitly LGBTQ+ lens. Peck's Sub Pop/Royal Mountain backing gave the video institutional indie credibility, while…

The director

Canadian filmmaker and actor born April 24, 1984. A 2017 CFC Director fellow, Mawson gained international acclaim with debut short PYOTR495 (2016), addressing anti-LGBTQ+ hate in Russia, screened at 100+ festivals. Has directed music videos for Orville Peck…