Traditional country has a way of cutting through the noise, and few artists make the case for it as plainly as Zach Top. The neotraditionalist — all pedal steel, plainspoken twang, and the kind of phrasing Nashville mostly stopped writing thirty years ago — brings his Cold Beer & Country Music Tour to CMAC in Canandaigua on Saturday, August 8, 2026. It’s a Finger Lakes stop on a tour that’s been building real momentum all year, and on an open-air August night, the timing feels right.
About Zach Top
Top spent years as a bluegrass picker before he reintroduced himself to country audiences, and the pivot landed hard. His 2024 album Cold Beer & Country Music — twelve tracks co-written with Carson Chamberlain, who also produced — leaned into the neo-traditional sound and connected with listeners who’d long since tuned country radio out. “Sounds Like the Radio” became his first Top 20 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and “I Never Lie” went viral and gave him his first Hot 100 entry. Since then he’s picked up CMA New Artist of the Year honors and a Grammy, the kind of recognition that turns a word-of-mouth favorite into a genuine headliner. Special guest Wyatt McCubbin — known for “Fly on the Wall” and “Unbroken Horses” — opens the evening.
About the Venue
CMAC — the Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center — is one of the better rooms in the Rochester / Finger Lakes touring circuit, and not just for the music. The outdoor amphitheater sits on the grounds of Finger Lakes Community College just east of Canandaigua, with 5,000 covered seats and lawn space for another 10,000-plus, putting total capacity around 15,000. The setting does a lot of the work: open sky, hillside lawn, and the unmistakable feel of the Finger Lakes wine country around you. For an artist whose music is built on space and patience, it beats any climate-controlled shed.
Tickets & Pricing
Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster, with prices starting around $79. Showtime is 8:00 PM. If you’ve never caught Top in a room this size, this is the kind of booking worth circling on the summer calendar.