Country star with local roots nominated for 3 Grammys. See him in concert soon
An up-and-coming country star with Eastern Washington roots has a new achievement under his belt: Grammy Award nominee.
Zach Top has been nominated for three Grammys, including Best Country Song, the Recording Academy announced Thursday, Nov. 7.
It’s the first time he’s been officially recognized by the nonprofit industry group.
Top joins a prestigious class of 2026 Grammy nominees that includes rapper Kendrick Lamar, pop stars Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga and rock bands Turnstile and Linkin Park. All received multiple nominations.
The Grammy nods round out an impressive year for Top, who will return to the area for a two-night homecoming tour stop later in November.
Who is Eastern Washington country star Zach Top?
Top was raised on a ranch in Sunnyside and grew up listening to “classic country music around the family farm,” according to his official bio at ZachTop.com.
He moved to Pasco before becoming a teenager, the Tri-City Herald previously reported.
Top is now based in Nashville and signed to independent label Leo33.
“Top specializes in this straight-ahead honky-tonk, choosing not to hammer home the rhythms but rather lean into dance-floor swing,” Apple Music said in its “About Zach Top” section.
Top was nominated for New Artist of the Year at the 2024 Country Music Association Awards and won New Male Artist of the Year at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards in April.
Which Zach Top album, song got Grammy nominations?
Top’s sophomore album “Ain’t In It For My Health” — released Aug. 29 — is up for Best Traditional Country Album.
The album includes the hit singles “Good Times & Tan Lines,” which peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on Sept. 13, and “South of Sanity,” which reached No. 98.
Top earned two Grammy nominations for his song “I Never Lie” — Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song. He shares the latter nomination with fellow songwriters Carson Chamberlain and Tim Nichols.
“I Never Lie,” which appears on Top’s 2024 album “Cold Beer & Country Music,” spent 34 straight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 24.
Who is country star competing against?
As a 2026 Grammy nominee, Top is competing against some of the biggest names in country music, including Willie Nelson and his son Lukas Nelson as well as Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert.
According to the Recording Academy, the nominees for Best Traditional Country Album of 2025 are:
- “Dollar A Day” by Charley Crockett
- “American Romance” by Lukas Nelson
- “Oh What A Beautiful World” by Willie Nelson
- “Hard Headed Woman” by Margo Price
- “Ain’t In It For My Health” by Zach Top
The nominees for Best Country Solo Performance are:
- “Nose on the Grindstone” by Tyler Childers
- “Good News” by Shaboozey
- “Bad As I Used To Be [From F1 The Movie]” by Chris Stapleton
- “I Never Lie” by Zach Top
- “Somewhere Over Laredo” by Lainey Wilson
Here’s who is nominated for Best Country Song:
- “Bitin’ List” by Tyler Childers
- “Good News” by Michael Ross Pollack, Sam Elliot Roman and Jacob Torrey, performed by Shaboozey
- “I Never Lie” by Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols and Zach Top, performed by Zach Top
- “Somewhere Over Laredo” by Andy Albert, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Lainey Wilson, performed by Lainey Wilson
- “A Song To Sing” by Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure, Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton, performed by Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton
When is Zach Top playing in Tri-Cities?
Top is returning to Eastern Washington as part of his “Cold Beer & Country Music” tour.
The tour started in late September and has already passed through Lubbock, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky, and Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
For his homecoming tour stop, Top will perform in Kennewick’s Toyota Center two nights in a row: Saturday, Nov. 22, and Sunday, Nov. 23.
As of Friday, Nov. 7, limited resale tickets for the concerts were available through Ticketmaster — with prices starting at $57.
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.