Viral "Rich Men North of Richmond" Singer Oliver Anthony Cancels Show Because He Was Going To Make Too Much Money
Source - Overnight sensation Oliver Anthony abruptly canceled a show he had scheduled for September 27 at the Cotton Eyed Joe nightclub in Knoxville, Tennessee, blaming the high cost of tickets.
“We will find another place in Knoxville area that can do $25 ticket and free meet and greet,” Anthony continued. ”I will work to get your tickets refunded from my own budget if they can’t. This will never happen again. Thanks for your patience. I am still learning how all of this works.”
The “Rich Men North of Richmond” composer posted a similar message on his official Instagram page.
The Video:
“Don’t buy $90 Cotton Eyed Joe tickets or $200 for a meet and greet. That’s not acceptable,” he wrote in a video caption explaining what happened. “Just saw the Facebook post and lost my s***. Miscommunication with my friend booking shows and I. My shows should never cost more than $40, ideally no more than $25. Hell, out of the 4 shows we have currently done, 2 of them have been completely free. This will get straightened out tonight. Hold off on buying tickets for now.”
Where do I even begin? I guess with the fact that part of me feels bad for Oliver. This is a man who quite literally became famous over night. He was thrust into the spotlight after his song about how everything sucks went viral and is now in over his head. He didn't ask to be famous nor did he want to, yet here we are.
Having said that, Oliver, here's some unsolicited advice...TAKE THE MONEY. TAKE THE GODDAMN RIGHT NOW. It's $120,000 for an hours work. Enough with the white knighting. We get it, you represent the working man, but that doesn't mean you need to be poor the rest of your life. Also, maybe people have the $100 and want to spend it on YOU? No one is holding a gun to these people's heads forcing them to buy tickets.
Here's what the venue had to say about the cancelation...
The event venue Cotton Eyed Joe fired back at the accusations of exorbitant ticket prices with a Facebook post of its own. The nightclub said the ticket prices reflected a “break even” amount, claiming it had made a deal with Anthony to play at the venue for an hour for $120,000.
“The North Man of Richmond contracted to play the Cotton Eyed Joe for $120,000 for 60 minutes …. after doing the math and knowing we can only hold apprx. 1500 people, paying the ticket website their fee to sell the tickets, paying the tax man, opening the JOE on a closed night … we set the ticket price to break even and bring our customers a show we thought would be fun. To our talent agency and promotor friends that follow us … be careful booking the North Man of Richmond.”
Again, I feel bad for him but at the same time I don't. The man is hiring a plumber to be his booking agent which is a nice gesture, but come on. The train has left the station, dude. You're a famous singer. If you care about getting your message out there, you're going to have to make some concessions along the way. Adding a few zeros to your bank account is one of them.