Let the countdown begin.
Simply put, there’s no one doing it quite as well as Zach Top these days. Though there are plenty of other stellar artists keeping the traditional scene alive, such as Jake Worthington, Charley Crockett and more, the Washington native has launched himself into the stratosphere as of late.
Of course, this was highlighted on a national scale the past few months when he not only took home Best New Artist at the CMA Awards in November, which he accepted with a Coors Banquet in hand, but also when he scored his first-career Grammy back in February. In turn, Top became the first-ever winner of the brand-new Best Traditional Country Album category, winning it with his sophomore album, Ain’t In It For My Health.
Given the immense amount of buzz surrounding him over the past few years, the success of his last two albums and his newly-announced fall extension of the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour, the question on everyone’s mind lately has been “When is new music coming?”
Last month, during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show, the “I Never Lie” singer noted that he’s been actively working on his junior album since January, before dropping a rough estimate of the album’s release date — the “first or second quarter” of 2027.
“Hopefully, sometime in [the] first or second quarter of ’27 I got a new record coming.”
Yesterday, on the Mostly Sports With Mark Titus and Brandon Walker podcast, Top would dive into a little more information surrounding his plans for album #3. Right off the bat, he would confirm that the album is coming next spring and that he’s planning to drop a “couple songs” at the end of the summer
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to say it yet or not, but I think we’re gonna put out a couple songs at the end of the summer. Then [I’m] planning on next spring, putting out another record.”
Even more notably (and excitingly), Top would hint at the possibility of a Red Clay Strays collab down the line. Given the fact that the two powerhouses have collaborated so frequently lately, twice in the last two weeks to be exact, the Washington native would explain that he and frontman Brandon Coleman have been wanting to finally write and record a song together.
“Any time we’re around each other, we love singing together. He’s one of my favorite singers in the world. So we keep on talking every time we see each other. It’s like, ‘Man, we gotta write something some time and record something together.”
Though the confirmation of a spring release for his junior album and the prospect of multiple new songs at the end of the summer should not be overlooked in the slightest, there’s no doubt that the possibility of a Zach Top-Red Clay Strays collab would be one of the biggest stories of the year in country music. Here’s to hoping the long-awaited collaboration finds its way on the album (or another project) sooner rather than later.
Zach Top 2026 Tour Dates
June 18—Bloomington, IL—Tailgate N’ Tallboys
June 19—North Lawrence, OH—The Country Fest
June 20—Columbia, MD—Merriweather Post Pavilion«
June 25—South Greenfield, MO—Baker-Spain Stampede
June 26—Bonner Springs, KS—Country Stampede
June 27—North Platte, NE—NEBRASKAland DAYS
July 9—West Valley City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 10—Boise, ID—ExtraMile Arena
July 11—Pendleton, OR—Pendleton Whisky Music Fest
July 15—Saskatoon, SK—SaskTel Centre∆
July 16—Edmonton, AB—Rogers Place∆
July 18—Whitefish, MT—Under the Big Sky Festival
July 23—Minot, ND—North Dakota State Fair
July 25—Cheyenne, WY—Cheyenne Frontier Days 2026
August 6—Toronto, ON—Rogers Stadium~
August 7—Ottawa, ON—Canadian Tire Centre«
August 8—Canandaigua, NY—CMAC«
August 13—Wantagh, NY—Northwell at Jones Beach Theater≈
August 14—Boston, MA—Fenway Park~
August 15—Boston, MA—Fenway Park~
August 20—Pittsburgh, PA—PPG Paints Arena∞
August 21—Allentown, PA—PPL Center
August 22—Bangor, ME—Maine Savings Amphitheater∞
August 27—Dieppe, New Brunswick—YQM Countryfest 2026
August 28—Gilford, NH—BankNH Pavilion∞
September 1—Toronto, ON—Rogers Stadium~
September 11—Lake Tahoe, NV—Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic«
September 17—San Diego, CA—Pechanga Arena«
September 18—Anaheim, CA—Honda Center
September 19—Fresno, CA—Boots In The Park
September 25—Corpus Christi, TX—Hillard Center Arena«
September 26—San Antonio, TX—Frost Bank Center«
October 2—Jacksonville, FL—VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
October 3—West Palm Beach, FL—iTHINK FinancialAmphitheatre
October 8—Des Moines, IA—Casey’s Center≈
October 9—Rosemont, IL—Allstate Arena≈
October 10—St. Paul, MN—Grand Casino Arena≈
October 15—Sioux Falls, SD—Denny Sanford PREMIER Center≈
October 16—Milwaukee, WI—Fiserv Forum≈
October 17—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena≈
October 23—Lafayette, LA—CAJUNDOME∆
October 29—Duluth, GA—Gas South Arena∆
October 30—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena∆
≠with special guest Cole Goodwin
«with special guest Wyatt McCubbin
∆with special guest Lukas Nelson
~with Chris Stapleton
≈with special guest Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives
∞with special guest Marcus King Band
