Country music is in a strange place right now as a genre, and that was more evident than ever during the first day of C2C: Country to Country 2026. With a Main Stage line-up that was dominated by young viral stars, whose music could be described as Country adjacent at best, (read a review of the other artists on day one in London here) it was a relief to get to the night’s headliner, Zach Top. The fast-rising Country star is leading a revival of traditional Country, heavily inspired by artists from the 90s and earlier. With three albums under his belt – including 2025’s “Ain’t In It For My Health”, Top has long been on the wishlist of the C2C crowd and last night marked his first time performing in the UK.
Top arrived on stage after Scotty McCreery, who livened up an audience that desperately needed it following Ty Myers, and he wasted no time getting down to business. Opening with ‘Guitar’, Top and his band immediately impressed with their remarkable musicianship and obvious camaraderie. ‘Sounds Like the Radio’ arrived as the set’s second song, and the audience jumped to their feet to dance in the aisles and let their hair down. What followed for the next 1 hour and 45 minutes was a storming performance that barely allowed the audience to breathe, as Top and his band whizzed through a whopping 23 songs.
The thoughtful, and almost political, ‘Between the Ditches’ was a highlight early in the set, as was a stellar cover of the Travis Tritt classic ‘Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde’. ‘South of Sanity’, arguably one of Top’s signature songs at this point, was met with one of the loudest reactions of the night and ‘Good Times & Tan Lines’ cranked the energy up a notch, encouraging the audience to stay on their feet and have a good time. Top took fans back to his roots with a two-song Bluegrass set that included his early song ‘In a World Gone Wrong’ and a cover of Jimmy Martin’s ‘Freeborn Man’.
During the second half of the set, Top wowed with a mostly solo rendition of the tender “There’s the Sun”, which saw his band return to stage towards the end, and ‘Dirt Turns to Gold’ felt a little weightier in a live arena. A lengthy band intro led into the swampy ‘Justa Jonesin’ and by the time that was over, it was almost curfew time. That didn’t stop Top though as he continued for another four songs, ensuring that he played everything he’d planned in his set. ‘I Never Lie’ and ‘Things to Do’ were performed as a powerful double whammy, and Top closed his set with ‘Cold Beer & Country Music’, which thrilled the audience.
Top is one of those artists that sounds even better live than he does on the record. His vocals were on point all night and he showcased his impressive guitar skills too. Surrounded by a band that was one of the tightest I’ve ever seen at C2C, Top was unstoppable all night and he more than lived up to the expectations of the crowd. Top is one of those artists that needn’t do anything more than stand on stage, sing and play guitar, and somehow he’s still completely mesmerising.
Like Cody Johnson who made his UK and C2C debut last year, Zach Top will leave a mark on this year’s festival and likely top people’s favourite performance of the weekend. He’s a true artist in every sense of the word and his brand of traditional Country is one that the genre desperately needs right now. Next time Top is here, he’ll have his eye on his own headline tour and I wouldn’t be surprised if he quickly graduates to stadiums. Top was without a doubt the best act on the Main Stage during Day 1, and he’s set the bar so high that it’s going to be interesting to see if anyone else can come close over the rest of the festival.
Set list: 1. Guitar 2. Sounds Like the Radio 3. When You See Me 4. Two Dozen Roses (Shenandoah cover) 5. Between the Ditches 6. She Makes 7. Bad Luck 8. I Know a Place 9. Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde (Travis Tritt cover) 10. Lonely for Long 11. South of Sanity 12. Good Times & Tan Lines 13. In a World Gone Wrong 14. Freeborn Man (Jimmy Martin cover) 15. There’s the Sun 16. The Kinda Woman I Like 17. Dirt Turns to Gold 18. Justa Jonesin’ 19. Slow Hand (Conway Twitty cover) 20. Use Me 21. I Never Lie 22. Things to Do 23. Cold Beer & Country Music Venue: The O2, London Performance date: 13th March 2026
