Most artists save their best moments for the main stage. Zach Top did the opposite. Before his show in Eugene, Oregon, he stood in front of a small VIP crowd and sang a classic Randy Travis song with nothing but his guitar, turning a simple warm-up into a personal, old-school country experience.
This is where his whole story clicks. Zach is not trying to be a “throwback guy.” He grew up on the same roots that shaped George Strait, Keith Whitley, and Randy Travis, so the sound is natural to him.
He already holds a CMA New Artist of the Year win and a nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year. Fans talk about him like he is “saving country music” and swear they could listen to him sing the phone book.
But moments like that stripped down Randy Travis cover are the real secret. That is the kind of thing that happens in the VIP and pre-show world. It is not just about better seats. It is about being close enough to hear every breath, every string, every small smile between lines.
Zach Top covers Randy Travis – If I Didn’t Have You
To understand how that same “old boot” comfort scales up on a bigger stage, you have to look at his breakthrough single, “Sounds Like The Movies.” Here, all the pieces his fans rave about fall into place: the clean 90s groove, the steel and fiddle, the classic love story lyrics, and that precise, throwback vocal.
“If I Didn’t Have You” Zach Top covering Randy Travis at The Lyric in Oxford, Mississippi. 4/3/25.
If that quiet Eugene moment showed Zach Top’s heart, his live cover of Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen” at the Ryman shows his whole DNA. It is the same setup again: just his voice, his guitar, and a room that hangs on every line. Standing on one of country music’s most historic stages, he is not copying Travis. He is carrying that sound forward with the same clean phrasing and steady control that earned him a Male Vocalist of the Year nod.