Oliver Anthony Cancels Concert Over High Ticket Prices, “That Will Never Happen Again”

North Street Press Club/Cotton Eyed Joe/Facebook

Oliver Anthony canceled his upcoming show at Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville, Tennessee, after discovering that ticket prices were higher than he thought they should be.

In a video posted to social media Monday, Oliver Anthony addressed the $90 ticket price and $300 meet and greet charge for the now-canceled September 27th event and promised that it would never happen again.

“Cotton Eyed Joe has been cancelled (sic). Ultimately, it’s my fault for not being more directly involved with the venues who have reached out. My plate has been full and I delegated the responsibility to someone else to help me book,” Anthony said. “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.”

He said the ticket prices were “not acceptable”

“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,” the “Rich Men North of Richmond” singer said.  “My shows should never cost more than $40, ideally no more than $25.”

Cotton Eyed Joe fired back at Oliver Anthony for canceling, saying that they had to sell tickets for more so they could “break even.”

The owner of the club, Chuck Ward, spoke to WATE and said he was offended by Oliver Anthony’s post and claimed that neither Anthony nor anyone from Anthony’s team expressed any concerns. He added that ticket prices were never discussed when the singer’s manager signed the contract.

“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.”

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Ward added that Oliver Anthony’s manager was the one who negotiated the contract that included a $120,000 salary for the artist and “production, security, overstaffing, hotel rooms for the band, and catering, among other things.”

“We did the math. We set our ticket prices to where we could break even on about 1,200-1,300 tickets,” Ward said. “Not make any money, take all the risk of having 1,500 in here. God forbid something happens. We’re liable.”

In a now-deleted Facebook post, the Cotton Eyed Joe warned other against booking Oliver Anthony, saying: “To our talent agency and promotor friends that follow us… be careful booking the North Man of Richmond.”

Anthony responded on Facebook and disputed claims that he was set to earn $120,000 for the Cotton Eyed Joe gig.

“The most I’ve ever made on a show is $35,000. We’ve done two shows in NC that were completely free, and have another free show scheduled September 23rd in Kentucky for a cancer benefit,” he wrote, adding that he talked to Cotton Eyed Joe on the phone about offering a free meet and greet.

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“But 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. I felt like they suckered us into playing there just so they could make extra money off of y’all.”

Anthony has since rescheduled his Knoxville show to take place September 29 at the Knoxville Convention Center. Tickets went on sale Tuesday, September 12, and sold out within 24 hours.