Watch Zach Top Join Billy Strings for a Bluegrass Jam at the Under the Big Sky Festival

Earlier this year, Zach Top exploded onto the country music scene with his sophomore album Cold Beer & Country Music. The 12-track collection put the Washington native at the top of the list of artists who are reviving the ‘90s country sound. At the same time, it proved that he is a top-tier singer, songwriter, and musician. However, long before Top was reviving the sounds of ‘90s country he was picking bluegrass songs with his siblings. During the recent Under the Big Sky Festival, Billy Strings invited him out to show off his bluegrass chops with a rendition of “Freeborn Man.”

In the video below, you can see that Top hasn’t lost any of his chops or forgotten his roots. He nails the lightning-fast boom-chuck rhythm of traditional bluegrass while tossing in quick melodic fills between chord changes. At the same time, he traded his signature country twang for the High Lonesome sound codified by classic grassers like Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. Watch a clip of the performance below.

[RELATED: 3 Times Billy Strings Reinvented Traditional Bluegrass]

@whiskeyriff

WHAT A DUO. @Billy Strings @Zach Top // 🎥: D_Moore66 (IG) #whiskeyriff

♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff

More than a stellar performance of a great song, the above video proves Top’s versatility as a performer. His latest album proved that he could play honky tonk country music with the best of them. Now, we see him standing shoulder to shoulder with arguably one of the best bluegrass bands on the road today and more than holding his own.

Billy Strings and Zach Top Cover a Bluegrass Classic

Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay co-wrote “Freeborn Man.” Allison released it in February 1967. Since then, some of the biggest names in bluegrass and country have put their stamp on it. For instance, Jimmy Martin, Jerry Reed, Paul Revere & The Raiders, and Greensky Bluegrass have recorded versions of it over the years.

[RELATED: Exclusive: Zach Top Discusses ‘Cold Beer and Country Music,’ His Timeless Sound, Songwriting, and More]

Billy Strings hasn’t recorded a version of “Freeborn Man” yet. However, he has been playing it since the early days of his career when he was performing with Michigan-based mandolin master Don Julin. Seeing how comfortable Zach Top was with the song, it’s easy to believe that the song has been part of his repertoire for quite some time as well.

Featured Image YouTube/Zach Top