No Alan?
In an era filled with some of the most exciting voices we’ve heard in the genre lately, ranging from the likes of Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson to Turnpike Troubadours and Colter Wall, there’s no one doing it quite the way Zach Top is these days on a national scale. 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 earlier this month. 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.
On all fronts, Top is absolutely killing it, simultaneously receiving a whole lot of buzz online, respect among both his peers and legends of yesterday, critical acclaim and a whole lot of love from his fans.
It should go without saying that the biggest draw with Top, outside of his undeniable charisma, is his dedication to carrying the spirit of traditional country back to the mainstream, often getting compared to the likes of George Strait, Alan Jackson, Keith Whitley, Tracy Lawrence and more. In fact, he’s garnered high praise from the likes of Lawrence, Dierks Bentley, Travis Tritt and Mark Chesnutt and more early and often over the past few years.
Considering how much of a staunch traditionalist the Washington native is, it’s no surprise that he has one of the best country music Mount Rushmores I’ve seen in quite some time. During a recent interview with fellow artist, Scotty McCreery, on SiriusXM’s Prime Country radio station, Top would reveal his Mount Rushmore of country music consists of Keith Whitley, George Strait, George Jones and Merle Haggard.
@scottymccreery @Zach Top knows his country music, and he’s got a pretty solid Mount Rushmore of legendary artists, too. From our conversation on Prime Country with Scotty McCreery. Listen on @siriusxm ♬ original sound – Scotty McCreery
Explaining his picks, the “South of Sanity” singer would immediately point to Whitley and Strait as his first picks, noting how Whitley influences his vocals more than any other artist and Strait was the reason he picked up a guitar at five years old.
“Mount Rushmore for me, number one is probably Keith Whitley. That was probably the biggest influence on my singing. I gotta throw George Strait in there too, because he was kind of the first reason I [started playing]. ‘Amarillo By Morning’ was my favorite song ever since I can remember. That’s the first one I asked to learn how to play on guitar when I started playing when I was five.”
Top would then select Jones and Haggard as his third and fourth. Here, he’d explain that he was introduced to them after falling in love with the sound of the ’80s and ’90s, noting the two legends helped him perfect his craft and really focus on performing the best that he could.
“A little deeper than that, George Jones [and] Merle Haggard are the other ones I’d put on the Mount Rushmore… All the ’80s and ’90s stuff, I very much was influenced by that. But it’s funny, that was the first thing that made me fall in love with the music. Then as I got a little older and really paid attention to trying to sing the best I could and playing too, I went so much older than that. I remember being 10 years old having a box set of George Jones stuff… I sat down there, and I swear I learned every one of them at some point.”
The one artist that he left out, however, that’s a bit of a surprise is none other than Alan Jackson. You have the viral memes/conspiracy theories about the “Chattahoochee” singer being Top’s father. Beyond that, he’s another legend that has clearly inspired his overall sound. Of course, that’s the tricky part about forming a Mount Rushmore: you’re always going to leave off some super influential artists.
With all of that being said, you cannot go wrong with all four legends that Top picked; it’s super on brand. The Whitley and Strait influences are beyond noticeable from recording to recording from a vocal standpoint. Meanwhile, Haggard and Jones are frequently covered at his live shows, and, most importantly, can be heard in the compositions of many of his tracks.
Ironically, we here at Whiskey Riff recently posted our picks for various team members’ Mount Rushmores. You can take a look at who we rolled with below.
Zach Top 2026 Tour Dates
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
