The list of artists collaborating with Oliver Anthony continues to grow. After the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Anthony’s native Virginia was canceled due to ongoing severe weather, headlining act Shinedown decided to bring some of the other artists on the bill together for an impromptu performance for the fans who braved the weather.
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Making a makeshift stage on a platform next to a gazebo, the members of Shinedown along with Anthony and Papa Roach serenaded the massive crowd that gathered around them with an acoustic cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” Equipped with his signature guitar (and his two dogs), Anthony’s husky voice cuts through the choir of voices, the crowd singing along to such classic lyrics as, And be a simple kind of man/Be something you love and understand/Baby be a simple kind of man/Oh, won’t you do this for me son, if you can.
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At the performance’s end, fans repeatedly chanted “thank you” as the artists signed autographs and took a group photo with the crowd. “Blue Ridge Rock Festival faced severe weather and was called short, prior to heading back out on the road, Brent Smith of Shinedown invited us up to sing a few for the people!” Anthony explained in the caption of the video.
Shinedown included a cover of “Simple Man” as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of their 2003 debut album, Leave a Whisper. It was released as the album’s third single and became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
Jamey Johnson recently invited Anthony to perform his hit, “In Color,” with him at his show in North Carolina following the release of Anthony’s viral sensation, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” After a video of Anthony performing “Rich Men” was posted online in August 2023, the song shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first artist to have a song debut atop the all-genre chart without having any prior entries.
Photo Credit: Youtube screenshot
