Orville Peck cancels tour, including Winnipeg Folk Festival headliner set, for health reasons

The act slated to close out the mainstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival's Saturday show is pulling out for health reasons, leaving the organization to work out a contingency plan with two weeks left before thousands descend on its Birds Hill Park site.

Orville Peck announced over social media that he is "heartbroken" about having to cancel or postpone all of his upcoming tour dates.

"This was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but I've come to realize that my current mental and physical health won't allow me to bring you my best," the country music artist wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

Winnipeg Folk Festival marketing and communications co-ordinator Brittany May confirmed Peck is no longer in the lineup.

"Orville Peck has decided to postpone his tour for mental and physical well-being. We wish him all the best," she wrote in an email Thursday morning.

CBC News asked whether the festival will try to add a new act to the lineup or bump up an artist or band that is already scheduled to play. 

May said festival staff "are currently working hard to bring you a full Saturday night of music on the main stage."

Festival-goers can expect an update via the folk festival app and social media accounts, she said.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival runs from July 6 to 9, with the campground opening July 5.

South Africa-born, Canada-based Daniel Pitout, stage name Orville Peck, is known for his crooning baritone voice and for wearing a mask and veil on stage.

The gay country musician's growing catalogue includes several tracks and ballads about men, and he has spoken about what it means to break down barriers in a genre that has by some counts been traditionally straight and male-dominated.

Orville Peck made the 2019 and 2022 long lists for the Polaris Music Prize album of the year for his debut album, Pony, and second album, Bronco.