Zach Top waited five years for a day like April 5th.
The Washington native spent half a decade cutting his chops in Music City, writing and recording some of the countriest tunes spawned there in decades. A handful of single releases built anticipation and a rabid fanbase eager to scoot a boot or cry in their beer with every word he sang. And while he may sing about dirt turning to gold, those five years of hard work also turned to gold: his debut album Cold Beer & Country Music.
Chock full of fiddle, steel and twanging Telecasters, Top’s debut effort stands as a massive win for traditional country music, which he will be bringing to stages across America as he shares bills with Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley through the fall.
We chatted with Top all about Cold Beer & Country Music, growth, working with A-list pickers and more!
Pro Country: “Cold Beer & Country Music” was your first release from its album, which was released in July of 2022. As release day for Cold Beer & Country Music was approaching, what emotions did you feel as you were finally going to be releasing the whole album out into the world?
Zach Top: It was so long-awaited. We had been writing these songs for five years. Some of the stuff had been cut for a couple years, and we were just sitting on it and waiting to put it out. I was so ready for so long to have a full project out for people to enjoy. I think there’s something a little more special about that than tossing out singles every now and then. I like the essence of a full project, so we tried to make it feel cohesive. With that many songs, you can show all the different sides of yourself; you get the “Cold Beer & Country Music” side, you get the “There’s the Sun” side, and you get the “Dirt Turns to Gold” side. There’s a little something on there for everybody. I was tickled to death and couldn’t wait to have more music out for folks to sing back to us at shows.
PC: “Sounds Like the Radio” has climbed to just outside of the top 30 on the country charts. As your debut single to country radio, what has it been like to see the song continuing to grow legs and perform the way it has?
ZT: It’s crazy! I believed in that song as soon as we wrote it. It’s fun, upbeat, and good dancin’ music. I may be biased because I wrote the dang thing, but it’s a “what’s not to like here?” kind of a song. It’s an easy introduction into my music. It was a little nervewracking when we first put it out to radio. It sticks out like a sore thumb because it doesn’t sound like anything else that’s on the radio. I figured it would have a “love it” or “hate it” reaction, and I’m thankful that so far, it’s mostly been “love it!”
PC: “Use Me” was the last single you released prior to Cold Beer & Country Music, and has already nearly amassed two millions streams on Spotify alone. How encouraging is it to see a country-as-hell, cheating waltz performing the way “Use Me” has?
ZT: I love it. That song is so raw and so real. On the industry side of things, songwriters and the people making the music can almost get in their own way sometimes trying to make something that’s watered down. I think “Use Me” is a great example of writing something real and honest and having people recognize that authenticity. It turns out people still like waltzes! [laughs]. I always say at shows that it’s probably the countriest song I’ve ever written, so it’s nice to see it taking off the way it is. It’s so fun to play it every night. People are screaming it back at us like it’s already been a hit. It’s really fun to see!
PC: “Cowboys Like Me Do” is one of our favorite songs on Cold Beer & Country Music, and is a song you co-wrote with Carson Chamberlain and Roger Springer. Can you take us in the room and talk about how the song came together?
ZT: That was the first time we wrote with Roger. I’d been wanting to write with him for a long time, because if you know Roger, you know the long list of hit songs he’s written. I’d been a fan for a long time, and I was finally able to get a day with him.
The title of the song was Carson’s idea. We got the chorus down first, and then went into the verses; I remember running off on the verses. I love stuff where a whole song carries on one half of a conversation and the listener has to fill in the blanks for what the other person is saying. It tells the story well enough for the listener, but it also allows them to take some artistic liberties and fill in the blanks how they want to. I kept coming back and doing that “Naw, ma’am” thing, like he was answering questions from the girl. That’s one of my favorites on the record.
PC: Of the new songs released on Cold Beer & Country Music, “Dirt Turns to Gold” has been the top-performer on streaming so far. What do you think it is about that song that has allowed it to connect with listeners out of the gate?
ZT: It’s got a really wholesome message. We wrote that with Paul Overstreet. The way it came out was us just shooting the bull, and I was talking about trying to buy a place in Nashville. The way housing prices are these days, it feels like it’s almost impossible for a young person to buy their own piece of land. When I was saying that, Carson said, “my daddy always said ‘dirt, that’s the one thing they ain’t making no more of.’” That became the first line of the song.
The conversation shifted to how so many people that grow up in the country get a little restless and look for something more flashy and exciting, but as soon as they get it, the only thing they want is to go back where they came from. Carson said, “I’ll tell you what, dirt’s as high as gold now!” We kind of just stumbled on the song as we were talking, and I believe that’s something a lot of people feel. I’m really proud of that one, and I’m glad it’s been resonating with people so far!
PC: Carson Chamberlain served as producer and was a frequent co-writer on Cold Beer & Country Music. Can you talk about the relationship you’ve developed with Carson and how integral it has been for your career?
ZT: I would be nowhere without Carson. He’s been like another father for me, personally. And on the business side of things, he’s been a fantastic mentor. He’s never steered me wrong. When I first started coming to town, it was entirely on his reputation that he could get big time hit songwriters like Mark Nesler and Tim Nichols to come in and work with me. I would’ve never been able to get in the room with them on my own. He’s set me up so well not just on the creative side, but on the business side as well. He’s a smart businessman, and he stressed to me early on that you can be a great singer, songwriter or player, but you have to have business sense too. For the last five years, he’s given me a thorough education on how to be successful in the music business. There’s nobody in town that I’d rather be working with. We make a great team.
PC: Cold Beer & Country Music features performances by heavy-hitting musicians like Brent Mason, Andy Leftwich and many others. What is it like to create music with pickers who have played on so many country music standards?
ZT: It’s killer! I was so intimidated the first time we went in the studio and worked with those guys. They’re all super nice and put me at ease really quick. Now that we’ve cut a ton of songs with them, they all feel like buddies. It’s like a little reunion when we get a session booked. Brent walks on water to me, so to be able to shoot the bull with him and pick his brain on gear he uses and his thought process when he’s playing has been great. They’re all so willing to share their time with me. It’s such a validating feeling when they get excited about these songs too. I know a lot of the time, it’s work for them; they’ve gotta go make a check and they may not love everything they play, but they’re always really excited about what we’re bringing to the table, so that’s a fun feeling.
PC: What do you hope listeners take away from Cold Beer & Country Music after listening all the way through?
ZT: One of my favorite things about country music is the stories in it and how there is something for everybody. With this record, I tried to make a point of having that. You’ve got a love song, you’ve got songs you can stomp your feet to, and you’ve got a cheatin’ song. It runs the gamut of the human condition. There’s something for everybody, wherever they’re at. Music’s a beautiful thing when it can do that. I hope that this record does that for them and that they can feel understood by at least one of these songs.
PC: You mentioned you were working on songs for Cold Beer & Country Music for five years. How do you feel you grew over the course of making the album?
ZT: When I started trying to write songs, I was trying to be really clever and use little word tricks and really hooky things; stuff that would be considered commercial to try to get people hooked on a song. Now, I’m trying to emulate guys like Merle Haggard and just letting the song say what it needs to say. It isn’t intricate, crazy rhyme schemes with word tricks that makes you like his songs, they just had great, honest messages that said just what they needed to say, no more, no less.
“Use Me” is the last song we wrote that was included on the record, and I think that’s one of the songs I’m most proud of being a writer on. It’s honest and it says what it needs to. It doesn’t gloss over anything or water anything down. When a song is authentic like that, I think that’s what people resonate with the most.
PC: The last time we talked, your opening slot on Lainey Wilson’s tour had just been announced. Now that the tour is starting in less than a month, how much are you looking forward to staying busy on the road all year and bringing Cold Beer & Country Music around the country?
ZT: I’m pumped! There’s a lot of hard work that goes in to life on the road, and the reward is being on stage. It’s worth it every single time we’re on a stage in front of people that want to hear our music. That keeps me coming back, and I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I’ll take all the work I can get as long as I can get it. It’ll be fun to be on the road with people we haven’t toured with before. I’m excited to see whose fans we can borrow!
PC: With Cold Beer & Country Music now released and a busy touring schedule on the horizon, what else do you have planned for the rest of 2024?
ZT: It’ll mostly be that, but I’m gonna try to find a couple minutes every now and then to get some sleep [laughs]. It’s gonna be balls to the wall. I think I have my next weekend off for Thanksgiving. I’m super pumped about it. We’re going a lot of beautiful places this summer! We’ll be in Montana, so it’d be great to do a little fly fishing and to see Lake Tahoe. I get to do some hometown shows in Washington too. I’m gonna enjoy all of the places we play as much as I can. That’s one of the cool things about this job!
*Zach’s music is featured on The Best of Pro Country Playlist!*
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