Oliver Anthony announced he will leave the music industry.

Anthony, whose real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford, rose to stardom for his hit single “Rich Men North of Richmond.”

“I’ve decided that moving forward I don’t need a Nashville management company. I don’t even need to exist within the space of music. So I’m looking at switching my whole business over to a traveling ministry,” Anthony said in a 25-minute video posted to YouTube.

“My great-grandfather was a traveling minister,” Anthony said.

“I just kind of want to keep things in the family business moving forward. I have this vision for this thing that I’m calling the Royal Revival Project, and it’s basically just going to start as a grassroots music festival,” he continued.

“Hopefully it grows into something that can literally change our landscape and our culture and the way we live,” he added.

Per Fox News:

Anthony said he’s doing his first “thrown together” show on Saturday, but he wants to create something that exists “parallel to Nashville that circumvents the monopolies of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, and it goes into towns that haven’t had music in them in a long time.”

Anthony said he wants to stimulate the economies in these small towns, showcasing their culture while using local musicians and vendors, “so, you’re not having to drive to Pittsburgh to some concrete amphitheater to see a show.”

Earlier in the video, Anthony revealed he’s made enough money with his music success that “I never have to work another day in my life. I have everything that I wanted.”

But he said he’s feeling “this calling” to “this voice from God that keeps putting this vision in my head of a way to make a real impact in this world, to make a real change, to help light a fire that no one really can extinguish in my lifetime or after.”

“just posted a full length update on YT where I share my thoughts with you all on the mission moving forward,” Anthony posted to X.

WATCH:

People reports:

Earlier, Anthony said that he was “In the process of getting out of the music industry,” while responding to a comment on a social media video, per Rolling Stone.

“It’s a big joke,” he added, reported the outlet.

Speaking in the YouTube video, the country singer added that he still plans to release music “like normal,” but that it would be through his new ministry called “The Rural Revival Project.” He continued that this would “just be set up legally as a ministry” and that its first “completely DIY” show is planned for Nov. 2.

“I want to create a routing schedule to exist parallel to Nashville that circumvents the monopolies of Live Nation and Ticketmaster,” he explained in his YouTube video. “And it goes to towns that haven’t had music in a long time and it stimulates their economies.”

According to his website, the singer said he wants to play in “shows in towns and counties” that find themselves in “financial deficit,” and that the project is “focused on revitalizing rural farms and communities, promoting sustainable development, and improving the quality of life for people living in rural areas.”

Watch the full video below:

 

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