Joe Rogan hosts country star Oliver Anthony at his Austin club for surprise performance
Country star Oliver Anthony gave a surprise performance at Joe Rogan’s comedy club in Texas after being called on stage, much to the delight of the crowd.
Rogan invited Anthony to his club, The Comedy Mothership, located on East Sixth Street on Tuesday night.
The popular podcaster had acquired the historic club in 2022 as a stand-up comedy nightclub destination.
The audience was unaware that Anthony was waiting in the wings. The songwriter became an instant sensation when his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was first released on YouTube less than two weeks ago, making Anthony the first ever artist to reach the top without any chart history.
Rogan’s friend and fellow comedian, Tom Segura, teased Anthony’s performance by telling the audience that he had “a special treat for them.” When the audience discovered that the musician was the ‘special treat’, they erupted into loud applause and cheers.
Breakout songwriter and country singer Oliver Anthony performs Tuesday night at Joe Rogan’s club, The Comedy Mothership, located on East Sixth Avenue in Austin
Joe Rogan invited Anthony to his Austin club, The Comedy Mothership, on Tuesday night. The popular podcaster acquired the historic 1920s club as a destination for stand-up comedy nightclubs
Oliver Anthony became an instant sensation when his song ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100
When Segura shared the surprise and called Anthony to the podium, he partially announced: “this is so damn cool – this young man has exploded in popularity, and we’re all in awe of this man’s talent and we’re so lucky to be able to see him live here tonight,” Fox news reported.
Segura continued, “The very incredibly talented Oliver Anthony, y’all! Let him hear it!’
Anthony told fans that ‘this is my first time in a comedy club’, receiving more praise before breaking out singing and starting the live concert.
Audience members were unable to video or take photos of Anthony’s performance because Rogan has a “strict no cell phone policy,” according to country music platform Whiskey Riff.
Top of the pops: The country anthem has anticipated Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift’s offerings
Anthony told The Free Press in an interview last week that he hoped his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” would make Americans realize that “the federal government is not going to save us.”
With his lyrics, he wanted to make it clear to the public that relying on someone in government will not improve their lives, the country singer emphasized to The Free Press.
“What I want from this for the general public is that people are no longer dependent on someone 150 or 300 miles away to solve their problems for them,” he added.
“As no one is Washington DC, no one in the federal government is coming to save us,” he added.
Anthony emphasized the importance of forming relationships and bonds within local communities, saying, “The people who are going to save us are each other, local relationships.”
He also noted the disturbing trend of increasing disconnection, even between families.
“Even families are torn apart. I’ve seen this in my old household, where you have a whole family under one roof and instead of spending time together and taking care of each other, they’re all just sitting there looking at their own piece of technology, there completely merged and not into each other.’
This detachment, he says, is at the heart of the problem in communities across America.
‘That’s the real problem. Only at the community level are we very far apart.’
Oliver Anthony had a lot to laugh about at his free concert in North Carolina last weekend
The Farmville, Virginia, factory worker has beaten the Beatles and Elvis after his self-penned song attacking politicians racked up 17.5 million streams and 147,000 downloads last week.
The song captivated millions of disillusioned listeners and Anthony was hailed as a hero by conservative commentators who were already enthusiastic about the chart success of Jason Aldean’s Try That in a Small Town.
The song, which was released in early August, tops the chart alongside household names such as Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, Travis Scott and compatriot Morgan Wallen.
‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ has gained mass acclaim for its ‘chilling’ depiction of the life of the ‘average man’ in the United States.
The music video for the song, which features Anthony strumming a guitar and singing soulfully to the camera, has racked up more than 18 million views in a week.
On Spotify, the song was listened to almost 6 million times in just five days.
A fan of Anthony’s song, Rogan became fixated on the songwriter after watching his popularity grow on YouTube and social media in recent weeks.
On a recent podcast, he told guest wrestler Hulk Hogan that Anthony “can’t be authentic” and “has it in abundance.”