LOS ANGELES — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
Not only was Washington represented on the national stage at the 2026 Grammys, but Yakima’s very own Zach Top took home an award for Best Traditional Country Album.
Top’s award-winning album, “Ain’t In It For My Health,” was released in August 2025 as the second studio album of his early career.
In his acceptance speech for the award, Top noted he had been watching the Grammys since he was a kid growing up in Sunnyside, Yakima, and being a part of the show was an experience like no other.
“This is insane. I feel like I watched the Grammys as a little kid, and it looked like superheroes up on TV,” Top said. “To be here and be a little part of the whole thing is insane.”
Zach Top’s rise from Yakima dairy farm to Grammy stage
Top was also nominated for two other awards heading into Grammy night for his song “I Never Lie” off his 2024 album, “Cold Beer and Country Music.”
Top’s latest U.S. tour stopped by Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on November 14, 2025, and days later, he won an award at the Country Music Awards for Best New Artist of the Year.
Top is currently gearing up to embark on a European tour, playing songs from his “Cold Beer and Country Music” album in Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, among other countries.
The 28-year-old Yakima native grew up listening to classic country music at his family’s dairy farm and formed his first band with his siblings at the early age of seven.
“I got my first guitar when I was three and took my first lesson at age five. I wanted to be the next George Strait for as long as I can remember,” Top previously told blogger Bethany Bowman.
Several years later, Top has been critically acclaimed as one of the “hottest acts right now” by Rolling Stone and landed on several “Best of 2024” lists from Billboard and The New York Times.
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