'Rich Men North of Richmond' singer Oliver Anthony cancels show due to high ticket prices
The singer doesn't blame the venue but was shocked to see how much they were charging for meet and greets.
Oliver Anthony has done what very few musicians would do.
While artists all over the globe would be happy to see the maximum number of dollar signs in their bank account, he's hitting back at that corporate greed.
The singer behind the hit song 'Rich Men North of Richmond' has decided to cancel his upcoming show in Tennessee because the ticket prices were too high.
Anthony was all set to play at the Cotton Eyed Joe club in Knoxville until he realized how much people were being slugged for a spot at the show.
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"Ultimately, it's my fault for not being more directly involved with the venues who have reached out," he said on Facebook.
"My plate has been full and I delegated the responsibility to someone else to help me book.
"I am not pointing fingers at Cotton Eyed Joe, I don't know where the miscommunication took place.
"I'm just upset seeing those prices. We will find another place in Knoxville area that can do $25 ticket and free meet and greet.
"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."
He told fans to not fork out $90 for a ticket or $200 for a meet and greet as they should never have to pay that much to see him.
In another post he said he doesn't blame Cotton Eyed Joe for the misunderstanding.
"I personally talked with Cotton Eyed Joe on the phone about not charging extra for meet and greet. That's why I was so upset seeing them charging $200 for it," he said.
"I felt like they suckered us into playing there just so they could make extra money off of y'all.
"That being said, I wish them the best. All the fault ultimately is with me.
"I should have been more thoroughly involved in the booking, and I should probably consider using a professional consultant in this area.
"There's no reason why tickets should have went up for sale before a contract was signed."
Anthony said he and Joey Davis have come up with a business model that will ensure no one pays more than $25 for a ticket.
What's even better is that he will be doing meet and greets for free.
He said some of his shows he has done them for nothing, so there should be no reason why tickets should be costing more than $45.
Cotton Eye Joe owner Chuck Ward told WATE that he was offended by Anthony's comments on social media.
“We negotiated a price, and nothing was ever said about how much to sell the tickets for. Nothing was ever said about charging for meet and greets,” Ward said.
“We talked about the price. I sent him a contract. Everything was cut in stone, black and white and when we put the tickets on sale, we were at 500 tickets that we had sold in about four hours.”
He added: “We did the math. We set our ticket prices to where we could break even on about 1,200-1,300 tickets.
"Not make any money, take all the risk of having 1,500 in here. God forbid something happens. We’re liable.”
Ward said it would have been better for Anthony to pick up the phone and negotiate the price rather than go off on social media.
Topics: Music
Stewart Perrie