Eastern WA country star named new artist of the year at CMA Awards. See him play
An up-and-coming country star from Eastern Washington is the Country Music Association Awards’ 2025 new artist of the year.
Zach Top received the award at a star-studded award ceremony at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Top also performed his song “Guitar” at the awards show.
“I’m so thankful to be in a category with a bunch of other great artists that have had phenomenal years,” Top said in his CMA Awards acceptance speech. “It’s been a hell of a last couple of years.”
He also thanked his family, industry peers and God, among others.
Top took to the stage with a Coors Banquet beer in hand, a move that social media commenters say calls for a sponsorship.
“I don’t know if it was the classiest look or not, but hey, it’s me,” Top told People Magazine in a red carpet interview after his win.
Top returns to Eastern Washington soon for a series of concerts in Kennewick.
Who won at 2025 Country Music Association Awards?
At the 2025 CMA Awards, Top completed for the title of New Artist of the Year against four other artists: Ella Langley, Shaboozey, Tucker Wetmore and Stephen Wilson Jr.
He was also nominated four other CMA awards, including Album of the Year for “Cold Beer & Country Music.”
Lainey Wilson ultimately won that award for her album “Whirlwind.” She was also named Entertainer of the Year.
Cody Johnson beat out Top to win Male Vocalist of the Year.
Top’s song “I Never Lie” also earned nominations for Single of the Year and Song of the Year.
Ella Langley and Riley Green won Single of the Year for “You Look Like You Love Me,” sharing their Song of the Year win with Aaron Raitiere.
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.
Now, Top is 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.
What are Zach Top’s most popular songs?
Top’s CMA Awards win is just his latest achievement in recent years.
Top’s 2024 album “Cold Beer & Country Music” received critical acclaim, and the album’s single “I Never Lie” spent 34 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
He won New Male Artist of the Year at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards in April.
In August, Top released the album “Ain’t In It For My Health,” which features the songs “Guitar” and “Good Times & Tan Lines.”
That album has been nominated for Best Traditional Country Album as part of the 2026 Grammy Awards.
Top also 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.
When is Zach Top playing 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 is performing at the Toyota Center in Kennewick for two nights in a row this weekend, on Saturday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 23.
As of Friday, Nov. 21, limited resale tickets for the shows were still available on Ticketmaster. Prices start at $107.
Zach Top offers day-of ticket deal
According to an update from the Toyota Center, fans can buy concert tickets for just $25 on the day of the show at the venue’s box office while supplies last.
“I want all my fans to have the opportunity to see my shows,” Top told the venue.
The box office at 7000 West Grandridge Blvd. will open at noon both show days.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Eastern WA country star named new artist of the year at CMA Awards. See him play."