Photos: Overnight sensation Oliver Anthony draws thousands to show in Moyock

Kendall Warner, The Virginian-Pilot
·2 min read

Thousands of people packed onto the green at Eagle Creek Golf Club and Grill in Moyock, North Carolina on Saturday, August 19 to see overnight sensation Oliver Anthony perform.

Fans crowded around the singer in swarms as he made his way to the stage with his three dogs, surrounded by security and a small entourage. Signs reading “Oliver Anthony 2024” were placed around the venue, fans wore t-shirts saying things like “Oliver Anthony for President” and “In Oliver We Trust” and some traveled from places as far as Traverse City, Michigan.

Anthony is a native of Farmville, Virginia who went viral for his song “Rich Men North of Richmond”, which he played twice for the crowd on Saturday. The song, which has garnered 25 million views on YouTube, speaks to the working class communities by expressing frustrations with issues in the country including child sex trafficking, homelessness, the welfare system and more.

“It’s been difficult as I browse through the 50,000+ messages and emails I’ve received in the last week,” Anthony wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday. “The stories that have been shared paint a brutally honest picture. Suicide, addiction, unemployment, anxiety and depression, hopelessness and the list goes on.”

Anthony’s real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford but created Oliver Anthony Music in honor of his grandfather and 1930’s Appalachia where he was born and raised.

“Dirt floors, seven kids, hard times,” Anthony said on Facebook. “At this point, I’ll gladly go by Oliver because everyone knows me as such. But my friends and family still call me Chris.”

Anthony goes on to write about his life dropping out of high school at 17-years-old, working various blue-collar jobs in North Carolina, moving back to Virginia in 2014 after being injured in an accident at work, and spending the last five years struggling with mental health and alcohol abuse.

Since going viral, Anthony has turned down an $8 million recording deal. “Im sitting in such a weird place in my life right now. I never wanted to be a full time musician, much less sit at the top of the iTunes charts,” Anthony said in his Facebook post. “Draven from RadioWv and I filmed these tunes on my land with the hope that it may hit 300k views. I still don’t quite believe what has went on since we uploaded that. It’s just strange to me.”