With the trumpeted arrival of Zach Top, it’s tempting for the current generation to hail the cigarette-smoking, twanging guitar wiz as a classic country comeback savior delivered to retrieve the genre from the distasteful, thumping grips of 808s.
(808 is short for the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer. It’s a 1980s drum machine famous for its deep, booming bass drum sound prevalent in hip-hop, pop, and modern country tracks.)
Authentic to his soft-middled core, Top is a neo-traditionalist. And neo-traditional country isn’t a comeback story—it’s a throughline with a purpose. Born in the 1980s as a reaction to the hyper-produced Urban Cowboy era, neo-traditionalism is the sound George Strait, Randy Travis, and Ricky Skaggs championed to reestablish the genre’s baseline. It kept its roots planted through every decade that followed. Even when country radio leaned pop, rock, and hip hop, artists including Joe Nichols, Josh Turner, Justin Moore, and Craig Morgan proved there was still room for steel guitar and songs that felt like home.
Today, the term “neo-traditional” has become a buzzword again. But the music itself never left. What’s new in 2025 is that fresh faces are breaking through with that same spirit. They are taking tradition and giving it a modern stage. Here are the artists leading the charge.
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Zach Top
When Zach Top signed on as the flagship artist for Nashville’s independent label Leo33 in September 2023, few—except maybe label head Katie Dean and famed manager/publisher Bob Doyle—could have predicted just how quickly Top would spin to the peak of the genre’s conversation. Within two years, he went from being a promising newcomer to the ACM’s New Male Artist of the Year. While he didn’t win, his debut album was nominated for Album of the Year at the same ceremony.
His 2024 breakout, Cold Beer & Country Music, did more than introduce his voice—it revived a movement. The album earned more than 3.5 million streams in its first week. Fueled by the success of “I Never Lie,” which hit No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Airplay and claimed the top spot in Canada, the album made Top a star.
But numbers only tell part of the story. Wearing a wide-brimmed cowboy hat and moving with a shuffle straight out of a Texas dance hall, Top has become the face of country’s new old school. His music doesn’t mimic the past — it celebrates it using a unique Topspin. With his second album, Ain’t in It for My Health, out now, critics note that Top is blending honky-tonk and bluegrass not as nostalgia but as proof: neo-traditional country is not only alive, it’s thriving.
The Castellows
The Castellows—sisters Eleanor, Lily, and Powell Balkcom who hail from a cattle farm in Georgia—have captivated country music fans with their unmistakable blood harmony, blonde good looks, sweet smiles, and neo-traditional voices. The women went viral, moved to Nashville, and signed a record deal with Warner Music Nashville in 2023.
The women released their debut EP A Little Goes a Long Way in February 2024. With self-penned songs buoyed by Nashville’s most successful songwriters and a sound rooted in bluegrass and classic country, the women earned spots on CMT’s Next Women of Country and Pandora’s Artists to Watch. By the time the EP came out, the Castellows had already passed 100,000 YouTube subscribers, a number that had more than doubled by 2025.
That momentum has carried into streaming. The sisters have amassed more than 34 million Spotify plays and boast over 700,000 monthly listeners. Standout tracks like “Sober Sundays” and “Cowboy Kind of Love” showcase their mix of heart, harmony, and traditional instrumentation. They recently released Acoustic Live Sessions, a six-song project of stripped-down performances of originals and covers. The women are also spending the year on the road with Thomas Rhett’s “Better In Boots Tour” before headlining their own Homecoming Tour this fall.
Braxton Keith
With his smoky baritone and aching ballads and mids, Braxton Keith marries crooning with Texas twang to recall the neo-traditional stars of decades passed. His Warner Music Nashville EP Blue turned heads in 2025, building on the viral success of his single “Cozy,” which has more than 57 million streams. He has more than 1.7 million monthly Spotify followers.
Born in Midland and now splitting time between San Antonio and Nashville, Keith blends ’80s country aesthetics with modern energy.
William Beckmann
Texas-born William Beckmann blends his love of George Strait and Willie Nelson with Spanish-language ballads, honky-tonk sounds, red dirt, and Tejano influences into a style that’s both familiar and fresh.
Oddly reminiscent of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley, Beckmann released his major-label debut, Whiskey Lies & Alibis, in June. The collection delivered fiddle-driven barroom ballads, Spanish-sung tracks like “Danced All Night,” and more modern songs like “Tennessee Drinkin’.” With his smooth baritone and cultural crossover appeal, Beckmann is proving that neo-traditional country has roots and wings.
(Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Stagecoach)
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