Zach Top and Billy Strings are two of the most musically interesting stars in the country music and country-adjacent world today. Top cut his teeth playing bluegrass before developing the throwback honky tonk sound most fans know him for. Strings, on the other hand, is one of the biggest stars in modern bluegrass. However, he has repeatedly shown that he has no problem stepping outside of the style he’s famous for. Last week, they teamed up for a new three-song EP that perfectly showcases the style and versatility of both artists.
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Top’s Apple Music Nashville Sessions features two songs from Cold Beer & Country Music and a Ricky Skaggs cover. Strings adds lead guitar and sings on all three of the songs. With the EP, Top and Strings showcased a pair of great album cuts “Bad Luck” and “Things to Do.” Then, they delivered a killer rendition of Ricky Skaggs’ “Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown.”
[RELATED: Watch Zach Top Join Billy Strings for a Bluegrass Jam at the Under the Big Sky Festival]
“We had a lot of fun, traded back and forth some playing and whatnot. It’s so fun to watch him play,” Top said of working with Strings. “I feel like he’s known so much for a player that it gets passed over sometimes how freaking good of a singer her is too. It was so fun to get to sing with him and him kind of to come in a couple of my songs and sing a second verse, sing a little harmony, do that kind of thing. It was a blast,” he added. Listen to samples of each track below.
Unfortunately, the collaborative EP isn’t available everywhere. As the title suggests, it’s an Apple Music exclusive. So, fans who want to hear Top and Strings’ epic team up, will have to sign up for the service.
Zach Top and Billy Strings Cover a Ricky Skaggs Classic
Zach Top and Billy Strings closed the three-song EP with a cover of Ricky Skaggs’ “Don’t Cheat in Out Hometown.” Their acoustic country version of the song was a great tribute to the Skaggs’ rendition of the song.
Written by Ray Pennington and Roy Marcum, Skaggs released the song in 1983 as the lead single and title track from his 1983 album. The song went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving Skaggs his sixth chart-topping single.
Legendary bluegrass group The Stanley Brothers were the first to record the song. They included it on their 1963 album The Country Folk Music Spotlight.
Featured Image by Steve Jennings/Getty Images
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