HOPEWELL, Va. -- Singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony made music history in 2023 when his viral song "Rich Men North of Richmond" debuted at No. 1 on the charts. Now the Central Virginia man is making music history again. When tickets went on sale for his upcoming Easter Sunday show at The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, it sold out faster than any concert in theater history. Six hours!
But for Anthony, whose real name is Christopher Lunsford, success means giving back to his community.
"I like that Beacon Hill Church has selflessly given back to the community and taken care of people nobody else will," Anthony told CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil via Zoom this week.
Anthony was made aware of a recent CBS 6 story in which Covil featured the church's efforts to feed community members in need.
"You came and did a story a couple of months ago and somehow got picked up by Oliver Anthony while he was touring over in Europe and he messaged me," Beacon Hill Church pastor Michael Moore said.
That connection led to Anthony offering to donate the proceeds from his Easter concert to the church which meets at the theater.
"If we see people in our community that are selflessly making a difference and are just trying to help and don’t have ulterior motives and are honest in their thinking and in the way they want to make a difference, it's a good thing for us to support that in any way we can possible," Anthony said.
"I thought that he was someone that really did have passion for his community and wants to do good things for his community," Anthony fan Susan Steward said.
Anthony's benefit concert is already paying dividends to the church.
"Somebody just called me [after the announcement] and left me a check on my front door," Pastor Moore said.
If you were unable to grab a ticket to the show, the Easter Sunday concert will stream live on Oliver Anthony's social media channels.
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