CURRITUCK COUNTY, Nc. — The chants of "USA" and people singing along at Oliver Anthony's Eagle Creek Golf Club and Grill concert on Aug. 19 in Moyock, North Carolina, left no doubt that the singer is is very popular right now.
“We sold a lot of food and a lot of alcohol," said Golf Club Co-owner Tim Paasch.
He said the concert went smoothly and said it was about more than just making money, it was about promoting the music.
“His 'North of Richmond' song just pretty much struck a chord in everybody’s heart down in our little neck of the woods," Paasch said.
While some praise the song, some are raising eyebrows over lines like “if you're 5-foot-3 and you're 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds…”
Mark Dickerson allowed people to park in the parking lot of his nearby business as a way to support Paasch, the golf club and, ultimately, the area by helping bring people in.
“Everybody that came was very humble, very nice...I wish more people would've come. They would've loved (the concert)" said Dickerson. "The owner of the golf course, he’s done so much for our community. The man bends over backward to help us.”
“It was a large crowd, it was successful," said Anthony's tour manager, Brian Prentice. "He’s the same guy I met five years ago. It hasn’t changed him one bit.”
The weekend prior to playing at the golf club, Anthony played just down the road at Morris Farm Market.
Morris Farm Market Co-owner Chet Morris showed News 3 a video of the thousands of people parking at his business to hear Anthony play.
"It was heartwarming, the amount of people that came from all over the country," Morris said. "We had (people from) Colorado, Nova Scotia, Kentucky. Just very humbled by everybody that came together to help us out."
He estimated 6,000-8,000 people showed up.
But more importantly, he said, the event exposed people to the area.
“There are a lot of unique people, businesses, and things that you can do here versus just plow through and go to the Outer Banks," said Morris.
Anthony will be playing in Farmville, Virginia Aug. 23, the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, Virginia Sept. 7-10, at Alley Fest in Paintsville, Kentucky Sept. 29 through Oct. 1, and at Big River Outdoors Campground Oct. 7 in Mineral Point, Missouri.
