Parker McCollum supports the Oliver Anthony takedown.
Over the weekend, Parker McCollum took the stage in Little Rock, Arkansas, laying down one of his last shows of 2024. The Texas native was taking a quick pause in the set when a fan yelled out from the crowd:
“F**k Oliver Anthony.”
While this story has a lengthier backstory than a fan just yelling it for fun, it shows one thing: Parker McCollum fans are pissed at Oliver Anthony for insinuating he uses backtracking and auto-tuning on stage.
In early December, Oliver Anthony uploaded a 15-minute YouTube video laying out his thoughts on the music industry, explaining why he’s moving to ministry and dragging Nashville. However, one portion of the video caught the public’s attention when he called out an artist for using auto-tune and backing tracks during their shows.
“A lot of these mainstream acts…everybody runs backing tracks. Like I’ll never forget, I won’t say who the act is, but I think it was at South Carolina at the Myrtle Beach one, the band who played after us, that dude had six auto-tune modulators on a pedal board on stage, just to help him with vocal pitch live. And they had backing tracks running, drum loops running.”
What are yall’s opinions on this? The band that performed after Oliver at that festival was none other than P*rker Mccoll*m. pic.twitter.com/ulK9Zl0Eaj
— Jordan Powell (@Smuphy) December 7, 2024
Six Auto-Tune modulators… what does that even mean?
While Anthony never explicitly named who the artist was, he said exactly where the show was and that the “dude” played right after him. Given the obvious clues, social media was quick to connect the dots that he was talking about Parker McCollum.
Once word began circulating that McCollum was more than likely the artist in question, he quickly addressed Anthony and shut down his accusations.
“Hey guys, per the Oliver Anthony interview or whatever it was claiming that he saw drum loop modular or whatever he called it, I don’t even know what that is…100% fabricated lie.
Never ever, ever, ever one time have I ever used auto-tune or a drum loop or anything fake of any kind on stage. Me and my guys are ripping it the real deal every single night. There has never been any single part of our show, not one note, that was not live, raw, and in the moment. 100% fabricated story. That is 100% a lie.
That will never change. We will always be out there swinging it as a real band, trying to do our best to respect country music. So, that’s all I’ve got to say on it, and that’s where it needs to end.”
Fans and fellow artists flooded the comments in support of McCollum. If you’ve ever been to a Parker McCollum live show, you know his microphone is ON. The Texas native has never been afraid to let it rip, and spent years cutting his teeth in Texas bar rooms, earning fans at every stop along the way, before he ever received a major label record deal… it’s just such an absurd comment from Oliver.
And while it’s not necessarily uncommon for larger acts (probably more common in the pop world) to use some backing tracks or auto-tune during their shows, especially in larger venues or for televised performances like awards shows or halftime shows, Parker McCollum isn’t one of them. And Oliver Anthony began his statement with “I’ll never forget” so I’m going to assume he’s not mixing up the artist in his mind. He was very specific with the details of who was performing. But either way, Anthony’s rant gives off the vibe that he is a bitter guy who doesn’t quite know what he’s talking about.
Weeks later, McCollum’s fans still have a bone to pick with the “Rich Men North Of Richmond” singer as they yell during McCollum concerts to stand with him and not with Antony.
After the fan yelled “F**k Oliver Anthony” in Little Rock, McCollum responded to the fan, once again noting that he and his band are 100% live every night on stage.
“Word…
And I just want you guys to know that when you come see my show, when you come see me and these guys right here, there ain’t a damn thing fake about it. You understand what I’m sayin’?
Now, I’ll be the first to admit, that there’s probably a lot of nights that I do need Auto-Tune. There’s even some nights that I wish I had Auto-Tune. But for as long as there is air in my lungs, I will always get on stage and respect country music and do this thing the real way, the right way, live and in the moment. I write all the songs. Me and this band are live, every single note you are hearing is happening in real time, there ain’t a damn thing fake on this stage.
So whether you like these songs or not, whether you think I’m good or not, I don’t give a damn, but you best know… this is the real deal up here.”
Parker is standing on business and ensuring his fans know Anthony’s statement is 100% untrue —although the majority never questioned that. However, I can’t blame McCollum for driving this home; when someone makes a claim like that, which could be detrimental to your career, you will defend yourself until the bitter end. Props to him for standing up for himself… a lot of artists would just leave it alone
Check it out:
@kayla..mc #parkermccollum speaking out in LR. @parkermccollum @Oliver Anthony ♬ original sound – Kayla
Watch Parker and the boys perform “Burn It Down” later in the set:
