Oliver Anthony, the rising country artist known for his viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond,” is reportedly one of the individuals stuck at the Burning Man festival in Nevada due to flooding and chaos.
The annual arts festival has been thrown into turmoil following rare, severe rains that flooded the Black Rock Desert, resulting in thick mud that immobilized vehicles.
With over 70,000 attendees, known as “Burners,” the festival’s organizers urged everyone to remain in place and conserve their supplies.
Oliver Anthony, 31, had a scheduled interview with the socialist political journal Midwestern Marx on Sunday, September 3rd. However, during a live stream, the show’s presenters revealed that the singer was “trapped” at Burning Man.
“One of our hosts explained, ‘Our man Oliver Anthony has been trapped in the flooding at Burning Man, this is what he told us over email,'” they stated. “‘Oliver’s representative told us that he’ll be out there for at least another day. So honestly, right now, we’re mostly just concerned with his safety and hopefully he can make it out of this situation safe, and then we can reschedule the interview for a different time.'” The Independent has reached out to Anthony’s representatives for comment.
Previously a relatively unknown figure in the country music scene, Anthony skyrocketed to fame in recent weeks with his new single being dubbed a “right-wing anthem.” The song, which criticizes politicians, “welfare cheats,” and taxes, has spent two consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It has garnered praise from prominent Republican figures such as Kari Lake and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
During a recent interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, Anthony found humor in people speculating about his political views. He remarked, “It was funny seeing my song at the [Republican] presidential debate because I wrote that song about those people, you know. So for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up. It was funny seeing the response to it.”
Over the weekend, celebrities like Chris Rock and Diplo managed to escape Burning Man by trekking “five miles” through the mud. The DJ, Diplo, shared a video of their journey, riding in the back of a fan’s pickup truck that rescued them from a drier part of the desert.
Burning Man is an annual event that concludes with the burning of a 40-foot effigy, attracting participants who seek to temporarily detach from modern life and engage in an experiment of communal living.
The scenes at this year’s Burning Man have drawn comparisons to the infamous Fyre Festival in 2017, which left attendees stranded in the Bahamas. Promised “deluxe housing” turned out to be disaster relief tents, and soggy cheese sandwiches were served to the guests. Many of the scheduled musical acts failed to show up, leaving ticket holders stranded on the island.
