One of Spruce Pine’s warmest days this year welcomed Oliver Anthony Music to Lower Street (Locust Avenue) for the first concert of the Rural Revival Tour.
“I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time,” Anthony said as he walked up on stage. “This was just some wild idea in my head, probably three months ago.”
The all-day event was organized as a fundraiser for disaster recovery. The event attracted music fans from all over Western North Carolina, and even from further afield — Anthony fan Mike Savan said he came all the way from Cornwall, Connecticut specifically for the show.
Savan said that he discovered Anthony’s music on YouTube, and that the artist’s message has been an inspiration to him.
“I saw a message on my drive down here, and I probably won’t relate it exactly, but it said something like, ‘true courage is being able to rely on your neighbors,’” Savan said. “You need to be able to lean on other people, and I think that’s Oliver Anthony’s message.”
Anthony, who is from Virginia, spoke about his ties to the Western North Carolina community.
“When I was 17, I had a problem with authority and I didn’t get along with anybody at school, and I was just kind of a degenerate, so I decided to run away from home,” he said. “I don’t know why but McDowell County is where I ended up at.”
“Oliver Anthony Music” is a stage name; Anthony’s
legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. Several years ago, he worked at a variety of factories in this area, and he got his GED in Spruce Pine.
Anthony had his first hit with a viral video of his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” in 2023. Although he is a relative newcomer to the national music scene, Bakersville fan Adam Gortney has seen Anthony perform twice—this past Saturday and at a show in Greensboro almost exactly one year ago.
“There’s a level of authenticity to him that I think resonates to people in this region, especially, because he had a chance at a record deal, and then he turned it down,” Gortney said. “But he said, ‘I ain’t in it for the money, I’m in it just to play music and speak to the people.’”
Savan said that in the hours leading up to Anthony’s performance he spent some time getting to know local people and learn a bit more about the impact of Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land).
“I’ve talked to a lot of people today that are locals and have lived in Spruce Pine, and I’ve been brought to tears about stories that I’ve been told that I probably won’t tell anybody else because of how traumatic they were,” he said.
Gortney said he thinks the sold-out fundraiser shows how much strength the community has for continuing recovery from Helene.
“It shows the power of the mountain people,” he said. “It’s just a step forward, but there’s still a long road of recovery ahead. … I think we’re not getting a lot of attention as we once were; we still need a lot of help, but this is definitely going to help that.”