Music History Braker, Oliver Anthony Is Coming To Lubbock

Oliver Anthony is coming out of the woods.

Country singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony made music history this year by becoming the first artist in history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts without previously having a song on the charts. He is also the first living male songwriter to chart 13 songs simultaneously in Billboard’s Top 50 Digital Song Sales.

A musical poet of the people, Anthony became an overnight national sensation with the release of “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which has been dubbed the nation’s “blue-collar anthem.” But it resonates powerfully with Americans from all walks of life around the world.

The song has been streamed more than 77 million times on YouTube and more than 115 million across streaming platforms. Five of his other songs have made iTunes’ Top 10, with “I’ve Got to Get Sober” reaching No. 3. “Ain’t Got a Dollar” claimed the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s Viral 50 list and No. 2 on ITunes.

Anthony announced the tour with a humorous video on Instagram, in which he shows up late for work, is asked to sign a box of Fudge Rounds, and then awakens from a dream in his camper.

The tour, which begins on Feb. 1, comes on the heels of the breathtakingly rapid success of his raw, blue-collar anthem, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-August, a little more than 10 days after radiowv posted the video on YouTube of the six-foot-six, red-headed Virginian playing the song in his woodsy backyard.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” was an unexpected hit this summer, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and resonating with listeners across the country, including those on the right, who saw in Anthony a galvanizing figure. But Anthony pushed back. “The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up in this,” he said in an online video in August. “It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I’m one of them. It’s aggravating seeing certain musicians and politicians act like we’re buddies and act like we’re fighting the same struggle here like we’re trying to present the same message.”

The singer says he will release a new album in 2024, as well.

He will be in Lubbock on April 6th, 2023 at 8 p.m. at Cook's Garage. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, Nov. 16th at 10 a.m. You can find out more here.