The Summer The Pop Charts Went Country

The beard has been inescapable. If you’re on Twitter with any regularity, you’ve probably seen the scrunched-up face of Oliver Anthony, his cheeks blanketed in fuzzy bright red hair. The image is from a professionally filmed performance clip that originated on the YouTube channel radiowv. It finds the former factory worker Anthony clutching his acoustic guitar, performing a solemn country ballad called “Rich Men North Of Richmond” on his plot of land in rural Farmville, Virginia.