Zach Top sets Good Girls & Cowgirls release after Montana debut

Zach Top’s “Good Girls & Cowgirls” is headed for release on Aug. 21 after the Washington state country singer tried it out at the Under the Big Sky festival in Whitefish, Montana, Rolling Stone reported.

The new song will also get a 7-inch vinyl release backed with another fresh track, “Other Side of Hurtin’,” according to Rolling Stone. Top debuted “Good Girls & Cowgirls” earlier this month at the Montana festival, where he was a headliner this year.

When is Zach Top releasing Good Girls & Cowgirls?

Rolling Stone reported that “Good Girls & Cowgirls” is set for official release on Aug. 21. Top also said the song is planned for his next album, which he expects in the spring, with April currently the target though no date has been finalized.

On Instagram, Top posted that Montana had served as the test crowd for the song and confirmed the Aug. 21 release date. The post was attached to a clip using the song’s original audio.

Backstage at Under the Big Sky, Top described the track to Rolling Stone as lighthearted and fun, built around the contrast between a so-called good girl and a wilder cowgirl type. He said he expects listeners to enjoy it.

Why does Zach Top keep talking about bluegrass?

Top told Rolling Stone that bluegrass remains tied to how he writes and performs. Bluegrass is a roots style built around acoustic instruments and exposed musicianship, which means the singer and players have little studio gloss to hide behind.

That rawness, Top said, is part of why he thinks both bluegrass and his own music are connecting right now. He argued that country music went through a long period where records were polished tightly, tuned carefully and locked into place, and that some feeling was lost in the process.

Top linked that appetite for rougher edges to the rise of artists including Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan, telling Rolling Stone that their appeal comes from music that feels direct and unvarnished, whether listeners are fans of it or not.

Billy Strings also came up in the interview. Top, who sat in with Strings at Under the Big Sky last year, called him a rare phenomenon and pointed to him as part of the wider bluegrass surge.

Does Zach Top think he is reviving Nineties country?

Top pushed back on the idea that he is deliberately bringing back Nineties country, even though he acknowledged to Rolling Stone that his sound can resemble that era. He said he sees himself as following his own instincts rather than trying to recreate a period.

The difference, in his view, comes from bluegrass. Top said the influence shows up from the earliest stages of writing and in the melodies he favors, including traces of the high, lonesome sound associated with bluegrass singing.

Under the Big Sky has become a marker in Top’s fast climb. He told Rolling Stone that the 2025 festival, where he played his own set and joined Strings, was one of the first times he felt a crowd was showing up specifically for him, even in the heat of the day.

This year, he returned as a headliner. Top told Rolling Stone he is grateful for the run he is on, enjoying the ride and working hard to keep it going.

This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.