Growing up on a steady diet of George Strait and Marty Robbins, Zach Top has long nourished a soft spot for the country music of decades past. Now finding his footing in the industry, Top, 27, aims to put ’90s country back on the map. That message couldn’t have been more clear in his breakthrough single, “Sounds Like the Radio.” Much like Zach Top, traditional country music is “ingrained in” Jake Worthington’s DNA. And when the two join forces onstage, it’s like taking a step back in time. Watch them channel King George and Alan Jackson in this killer “Murder on Music Row” duet.
Zach Top, Jake Worthington Team Up to “Make Nashville’s Skin Crawl”
Opening for Zach Top during his Ryman Auditorium debut on Friday (Feb. 28), Jake Worthington told the audience, “You’re getting a whole bunch of country music tonight.”
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And that’s exactly what happened. Top headlined the stage at the Mother Church for the first time, treating the crowd to a mix of his latest hits and timeless country classics. In fact, both men peppered liberal amounts of nostalgia into their respective sets, covering songs like George Jones’ “The Grand Tour” and Merle Haggard’s “Ramblin’ Fever.”
It’ll be hard to top night 1️⃣ of @ZachTopmu’s 2️⃣ night headlining debut! 🤠
— Ryman Auditorium (@theryman) March 1, 2025
📸: @CatherinePowell pic.twitter.com/nfD6ITWN4v
At one point, Top grew serious. “What they label country music ain’t always what is my favorite country music,” said the “I Never Lie” crooner. “And that’s okay.”
As the crowd cheered, he continued, “And Nashville in general… I ain’t pointing no fingers at anybody, but Nashville in general has a real good knack for ruining country music.”
Next, Top announced that he and Worthington would “sing a little song about that.”
“We got the twin fiddles here, we got the steel guitar—we got everything we need to make a real country music song that just makes Nashville’s skin crawl.”
“We Got Ourselves a Neo-Traditional Country Music Revival!”
To the delight of everyone there, Zach Top and Jake Worthington launched into a rendition of “Murder on Music Row.” Written in 1999 by Larry Cordle and Larry Shell, George Strait and Alan Jackson gained widespread airplay after recording their version in 2000.
The song’s pointed lyrics clearly spell out the message Top and Worthington meant to send: The almighty dollar and the lust for worldwide fame / Slowly killed tradition and for that someone should hang.
“We got ourselves a neo-traditional country music revival!” exclaimed one elated TikTok user.
Featured image via YouTube
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