Country star Oliver Anthony cancels show over high ticket prices
"I felt like they suckered us into playing there just so they could make extra money off of y'all," wrote Oliver Anthony on Facebook.
Country sensation Oliver Anthony is determined to not let anyone take advantage of his fans.
The 'Rich Men North of Richmond' hitmaker recently cancelled one of his shows because of high ticket prices.
Taking to social media on Tuesday, the singer said he would no longer be performing at the famous Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville due to the price they charged people for tickets.
"Don't buy $90 Cotton Eyed Joe tickets or $200 for a meet and greet. That's not acceptable. Just saw the Facebook post and lost my sh*t. Miscommunication with my friend booking shows and I," he wrote on Instagram.
He went on to explain how much he charges for his shows.
"My shows should never cost more than $40, ideally no more than $25. Hell, out of the 4 shows we have currently done, 2 of them have been completely free. This will get straightened out tonight. Hold off on buying tickets for now.
"Cotton Eyed Joe has been cancelled. I am so sorry about all of this. I will do better next time. We are still learning," he wrote on IG.
Oliver was scheduled to perform on September 27 at the Knoxville night club.
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Cotton Eyed Joe statement
The event organisers took to Facebook to clear the air and claimed Oliver charged them $120,000 to perform for 60 minutes.
“The North Man of Richmond contracted to play the Cotton Eyed Joe for $120,000 for 60 minutes,” Cotton Eyed wrote on Facebook.
“After doing the math and knowing we can only hold approx. 1500 people, paying the ticket website their fee to sell the tickets, paying the tax man, opening the JOE on a closed night… we set the ticket price to break even and bring our customers a show we thought would be fun,” the statement which has since been removed said.
The singer disputed their claims that he charged them $120,000 for his performance.
"Cotton Eyed Joe claims we are charging people $120,000 per show. They have since turned the comments off, but I wanted to clarify. 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.
"My booking guy handled all of this on the phone with them. And I realize there are two sides to every story. 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," he wrote on Facebook.
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"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," he wrote on Facebook.
The country star promised to make it up to his fans.
"The good news is we have already found multiple other options for $25 admission venues in Knoxville that can accommodate more people, the same week this show was scheduled for. We will still be having a good time in Knoxville soon.
"I'll share an updated post once tickets are for sale for the new venue. We are working out the details now," he wrote on Facebook.
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Image courtesy of Instagram.