Breakout country star Zach Top has released a new EP featuring Billy Strings, Me & Billy (Live), along with a new video for Ricky Skaggs’ “Don’t Cheat In Our Hometown”.
After previously releasing the EP exclusively via Apple Music in November, Top shared the three-song collection on streaming platforms with a new title that seems to be a play on Strings’ 2022 album Me / And / Dad. The record features two of Top’s originals, “Bad Luck” and “Things To Do”, and the Ricky Skaggs cover.
“We had a lot of fun, traded back and forth some playing and whatnot,” Top said of the session. “It’s so fun to watch him play. And I feel like he’s known so much for a player that it gets passed over sometimes how freaking good of a singer he is too. It was so fun to get to sing with him and him kind enough to come in on a couple of my songs and sing a second verse, sing a little harmony, do that kind of thing. It was a blast.”
The EP marks the latest continuation of a fruitful partnership between Top and Strings. The pair first crossed paths in the summer of 2024 at Under The Big Sky Festival in Montana, where Top sat in with Strings on Keith Allison‘s “Freeborn Man”. Then, following the release of their Apple Music Nashville Sessions EP, Strings returned the favor in January, joining Top at his show at the Grizzly Rose in Denver ahead of his three-night run at Ball Arena.
Related: Watch Billy Strings Audition To Be Primus’ New Drummer
The release also coincides with Strings and Top’s visit to their shared hometown of Nashville, TN. Each performed at a different venue on Friday, the day of the EP’s release, with Top headlining Ryman Auditorium and Strings returning to Bridgestone Arena. They will both play the same venues on Saturday night. Fans have been speculating that another collaboration could be in the works, perhaps on Sunday when Strings takes over at the Ryman and Top has the night off. A limited number of Billy Strings tickets are available on Ticketmaster and StubHub. Zach Top tickets are available here.
Check out the video for “Don’t Cheat In Our Hometown” and listen to Zach Top’s new EP featuring Billy Strings, Me & Billy, below or on your preferred streaming platform.
Zach Top With Billy Strings – “Don’t Cheat In Our Hometown” (Ricky Skaggs)
Zach Top – Me & Billy (Live)
Tickets for the remainder of Billy Strings’ winter tour are available via Ticketmaster and CashOrTrade. If you can’t make it to the show, nugs is streaming the entire run to subscribers at no additional cost. Not a nugs subscriber? Start with a seven-day free trial. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Strings also recently confirmed a run of spring tour dates and his first-ever trip to Australia and New Zealand. He will also join Willie Nelson‘s Outlaw Music Festival along with Bob Dylan, Sierra Hull, and more.