Oliver Anthony, the new simple singer from Farmville, Virginia, cancelled a concert scheduled at Cotton Eyed Joe’s in Knoxville, Tennessee. He did so because of the price of tickets for the concert. Surprised? In today’s world of exorbitant ticket prices for live concerts being the norm, his attitude is a refreshing one.

His viral sensation “Rich Men North of Richmond” brought him a new-found fame and fortune that he may not have been ready for but he seems to be finding his way. In the meantime, he has gotten into a kerfuffle with the venue in Knoxville. According to Oliver Anthony’s social media posts, he hired his friend, a working plumber, to book his gigs. The friend, obviously a rookie, apparently didn’t nail down what the ticket prices were and when Oliver found out they were $90 and the meet and greet tickets were $200, he lost his cool.

He posted on Instagram that fans should not buy the tickets.

“Don’t buy $90 Cotton Eyed Joe tickets or $200 for a meet and greet. That’s not acceptable,” the caption of his post reads. “Just saw the Facebook post and lost my sh–. Miscommunication with my friend booking shows and I. 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.”

Two hours after he posted that, Cotton Eyed Joe responded on Facebook.

“It’s a Damn Shame what the Worlds gotten to for the Customers of the World Famous Cotton Eyed Joe,” the official Cotton Eyed Joe account began, referencing Anthony’s No. 1 hit song. “Most times we say a show has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control…well we are cancelling the Oliver Anthony show under our full control.”

The venue promised refunds would be issued to buyers’ original form of payment. “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.”

Anthony posted again on social media after he saw that Facebook post from Cotton Eyed Joe. He spoke about getting “cornered doing stuff that I don’t want to do in the first place.” He wants to keep ticket prices at $25. He also promises free meet and greets with fans at all shows. He wants his plumber friend to open each show for an hour. He also wants to end shows with “an optional open mic for the locals at the end if time allows.” He apologized for all the drama.

Cotton Eyed Joe has been cancelled. 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. 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. 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.

His brand is working-class populism. He’s not a political guy, at least so far. It’s not surprising that he flipped-out over the ticket prices when he attracts a working-class audience. His fans aren’t likely to be those who pay a lot of money for a live concert ticket, like fans have to shell out for popular singers today.

Oliver is doing his new music career his own way and it’s likely to be a bumpy road until he gets some experience under his belt. He also has to be careful about surrounding himself with capable people to help him along. Clearly this kerfuffle was a mix of rookie mistakes and a lack of communication. All of that is fixable. He just wasn’t ready to be an overnight success, as it happened.