Oliver Anthony has been on one hell of a run over the past few weeks.
The Farmville, Virginia resident went from zero to hero seemingly overnight when his performance of “Rich Men North Of Richmond” went massively viral as people from all walks of life connected with the strongly worded protest to our political system and its den of politicians in Washington DC.
It was the first song to ever debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 by an artist who never previously charted, and maintained that top position for a second week despite Zach Bryan releasing an album, showing that the song (and Anthony) may not just be the flash in the pan that some (myself included) thought he might be.
His rise has also been huge for country music as a whole, as the genre has taken the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second straight week.
His performance drew in massive support and backlash alike, with voices like The Office star Rainn Wilson speaking out against it, but countless of people have been championing the former factory worker, including Jamey Johnson, who joined him at his first show after going viral at a North Carolina farmer’s market to sing “In Color”.
But it’s not just people within the country music world that have gotten behind Oliver (whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford), as Gucci Mane floated the idea of signing him to a label, the first question at the Republican Primary Debate was on the sentiment and cultural movement behind the song, and of course, none other than Joe Rogan, the world’s largest podcaster and famed stand up comedian, has been absolutely raving about both Oliver and the song.
On a recent episode with Hulk Hogan, he praised Oliver, saying “He’s saying what people think” and reposted the song when it first blew up:
“I love this song. You can’t fake authentic, and Oliver Anthony has it in abundance.”
Well, in true Joe Rogan fashion, he couldn’t keep his praise only on the internet and just today posted a video of Oliver being announced for a performance at The Comedy Mothership, a comedy club that Rogan opened recently in downtown Austin, Texas.
Fellow comedian Tom Segura (check out his special “Disgraceful” if you haven’t yet) got the honor of introducing Oliver to the stage by saying the following.
“Guess what? I have a special treat for you. This doesn’t always happen but this does happen when you come to really cool places like the Comedy Mothership.
I’m going to bring on stage, right now, this is so f*cking cool, this young man has exploded in popularity and we’ve all been blown away by this guy’s talent and we’re so lucky that we get to see it here live tonight. The very, amazingly talented Oliver Anthony everybody, let him hear it!”
To say the crowd went nuts would be an understatement…
He then addresses the people and says it’s his first time ever at a comedy show, which makes the moment that much sweeter, but I also have to think it was probably a culture shock for him, especially since getting sober, turning to God, and living on 90 acres of land in the middle of nowhere, but hey, when Joe Rogan calls, you answer. (Unless you’re Colter Wall).
Oliver has reportedly turned down an insane number of offers, some being in the $8 million dollar range, since blowing up, so accepting the invite from Joe Rogan really does go a long way in showing what type of media he wants to be around and the type of support he’s comfortable receiving.
I have to say, he made the right choice.
Unfortunately, Rogan’s club has a strict no cellphone policy so it’s unlikely we’re going to actually hear the performance, but man how cool would it have been to be in that room?
The magic of music, laughter, and good community. This is what the world needs more of.
But I’ve got to ask the question that everybody in the comments is asking… Do we have a podcast coming soon?
