When contemporary influences expand country music’s parameters, you’ll hear, “country music ain’t like it used to be” as a common refrain. But 25-year-old ZACH TOP is reviving the spirit of ‘90s traditionalists like George Strait, Keith Whitley, and Randy Travis with classic vibes that evoke the dancehalls of Texas, the roar of the rodeo, and jukebox ballads with a cold beer in hand.
There’s nothing more current than old-school country to ZACH, who grew up on a ranch in Sunnyside, Washington. He recalls rockin’ a Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs cassette while riding out in an old Chevy pickup to feed livestock throughout his childhood. At the age of seven, he formed a bluegrass band with his siblings called Top String. All through his teens and early twenties, he played in various bluegrass bands, including Modern Tradition (winners of the 2017 SPBGMA international band competition)
with whom he notched a string of hits on bluegrass radio, including the #1 song “Like It Ain’t No Thing.”
Honky-Tonk dreams took him to Nashville in 2021, where he secured a crucial publishing deal with Bob Doyle’s Major Bob Music. Since the move, he has established himself as an artist to watch, being asked to perform at the Grand Ole Opry several times, where he debuted his first country single, “Cold Beer & Country Music,” on the historic stage.