Oliver Anthony cancels concert over high ticket prices: 'This will never happen again'

Oliver Anthony has canceled his show at Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville, Tennessee, due to high ticket prices.

"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," the "Rich Men North of Richmond" singer told fans on Facebook Monday night. "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 added: "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."

Why did Oliver Anthony cancel his show at Cotton Eyed Joe?

Hours before canceling, the "Ain't Gotta Dollar" singer told fans on social media not to buy tickets to his scheduled concert on Sept. 27 because they were $90 and $200 for a meet and greet. "That's not acceptable," he wrote on Instagram. "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."

Anthony explained that he's had his friend working as his booking agent and there was a miscommunication about how much his tickets should sell for.

"These are supposed to be affordable shows. Please don’t pay $90 for a ticket. I’m going to work out the details with him and if we have to reschedule this event somewhere else we will,” Anthony said in a post.

The country singer vowed to only do shows with $25 ticket prices and free meet and greets for future shows, excluding his upcoming appearances at festivals Poppy Mountain and Louder Than Life.

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Cotton Eyed Joe fires back at Oliver Anthony

Cotton Eyed Joe slammed Anthony's cancellation on Facebook, claiming they sell ticket prices to break even.

"Most times we say a show has been cancelled (sic) due to circumstances beyond our control ... well we are cancelling (sic) the Oliver Anthony show under our full control," the venue said. "All refunds will be made in the next few business days to your original form of payment."

Explaining the cost for the concert, the venue said, "The North Man of Richmond contracted to play the Cotton Eyed Joe for $120,000 for 60 minutes ... after doing the math and knowing we can only hold apprx. 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."

"To our talent agency and promotor friends that follow us ... be careful booking the North Man of Richmond," they added.

In a statement to USA TODAY on Friday, Chuck Ward, owner of Cotton Eyed Joe, claimed Anthony's manager Brian Prentice had requested "$120,000 in compensation, plus two nights hotel accommodations" for the musician. "Cotton Eyed Joe suggested a ticket price of $99 per ticket for the concert and a concert/meet-and-greet combo ticket at a price of $199 per ticket. Prentice verbally agreed to both the concert ticket and the concert/meet-and-greet combo ticket prices and asked for Cotton Eyed Joe to produce a formal agreement."

The owner said that while they awaited a signed contract, they announced the ticket sale and price at Prentice's request.

"Instead of Anthony coming back to Cotton Eyed Joe directly for a professional discussion about the agreement we were asked to produce ... Anthony decided to express his concerns through his social media platforms," Ward wrote. "Anthony’s statements were beyond misleading and did not at all appropriately represent the conversations that had occurred throughout the process to create a formal agreement. It wasn’t until after the media frenzy ensued that Cotton Eyed Joe received a phone call from Prentice expressing concern for the prices that had been previously agreed to, verbally.

"Ultimately, on September 11, 2023, Prentice notified Cotton Eyed Joe of Anthony’s decision to end the discussions and cancel the September 27, 2023 event."

He added: "Had Anthony and Prentice first reached out to us for a professional conversation about their concerns with the contract, Cotton Eyed Joe feels confident an agreement could have been reached in a respectful manner. Instead, what has happened has portrayed Cotton Eyed Joe in a disparaging manner plagued with misinformation. We hope this statement helps to appropriately outline the facts."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oliver Anthony cancels Cotton Eyed Joe concert over high ticket prices