Oliver Anthony is ‘singing for all of us’: Home town salutes ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ phenomenon
Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, propelling a once-unknown songwriter from south-central Virginia onto the national stage. But he’s staying close to his roots.He opened his Rock the Block festival appearance by reading a Bible verse to the crowd of about 350 locals then said, “Despite what you’ve been reading on the Internet, this song still rings true,” and launched into his first song, “Ain’t Got a Dollar.”His life has changed since he first sang its lyric “I ain’t gotta dollar, But I don’t need a dime,” with his estimated earnings now as high as $40,000 a day.Then the crowd became his chorus when he sang his viral hit hit “Rich Men North of Richmond,” and when he invited anyone who wanted an autograph or photo after his four-tune set on the “Rock the Block” festival stage on Fourth Street, squeezed between the Railroad Club and First Baptist Church, he was mobbed.It was his second Farmville gig in four days.