Oliver Anthony says it’s time to make rural America great again.
The Virginia singer-songwriter, who in 2023 became an overnight sensation for his country anthem “Rich Men North of Richmond,” delivered a powerful address at the 2025 Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) Conference in London on Feb. 18 on the struggles of everyday people, the impact of digital dependence, and the need to restore rural America.
Drawing from personal experiences and a flood of messages he’s received since August 2023, Anthony, 32, painted a stark picture of a society where many suffer in silence while the powerful and privileged remain disconnected from reality.
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“I realize now that we don’t have any clue to how many around us are really broken, how many are silently suffering and barely hanging on,” said Anthony, who described receiving countless messages from individuals who see themselves as “nobodies,” sharing deeply personal stories of addiction, mental illness and financial hardship.
Despite their struggles, these people, said Anthony, still cling to hope for a better future. “It kills me because these people, they aren’t nobodies,” he added.
The self-described “32-year-old nobody” and “high school dropout who lives in a log cabin in the woods in Virginia,” Anthony said one of the culture’s biggest challenges is the misplaced admiration for celebrities, politicians and social media influencers while ordinary people — the ones who truly keep society functioning — are overlooked. “We are so busy idolizing the genuine nothings of society,” he said, describing how those in the spotlight often lead “comfortable little lives” while the real heroes go unrecognized and unappreciated.
Anthony also addressed “neuroplasticity” and what he described as the dangers of excessive digital immersion, warning that society is undergoing rapid and possibly irreversible changes.
“We are the last living people in history to have experienced life before the digital age,” he said, pointing to younger generations who often struggle to differentiate between the online world and reality.
Citing statistics showing that by the time they turn 30 years old, the average American teenager will have spent approximately 30,000 hours on social media, Anthony asked, “What irreversible alterations will 30,000 hours of staring into algorithmically fed states of hypnosis do to the human mind or to their offspring?”
“Without realizing it, we are being programmed, and our culture is becoming commodified,” he warned. “ … In other words, the more time we spend online, the more commoditized our culture, the more tribal our psychology, and the more vulnerable we become.”
His speech took an emotional turn when Anthony shared firsthand experience with the disaster relief efforts following severe flooding in North Carolina. Recalling how volunteers — and not government agencies — stepped in to provide aid, Anthony said the community’s response to that disaster inspired him to reconsider what true leadership looks like.
“Volunteers were working 16 hours a day, taking supplies on everything from horses to helicopters. It was humanity there in front of my very eyes, and it was in those seven days in North Carolina that changed everything for me,” he said. “It was people saving people, even with a lack of leadership, failed protocols, and overwhelming inefficiency from the state. The nobodies took up the slack …
“So I’m just here to remind you that we don’t need our false idols. We should no longer rely on politicians who bow down to money to manage our cities or our states. We need to find the real leaders everywhere and empower them,” he added.
Anthony closed his speech by announcing the launch of the Rural Revival Project, which seeks to “revitalize rural communities by blending music, faith and education through transformative, community-driven experiences that connect people to nature, foster fellowship, and promote sustainable practices, self-sufficiency and healing.”
The project’s first official gathering is set for April 5 in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
Anthony closed by quoting Psalm 37: “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong, for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
