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Zach Top Says “South Of Sanity” Came From A Real Place Of Pain After His Marriage Ended: “I’m Trying Not To Bawl My Eyes Out”
It’s not all glitz and glamour, that’s for sure.
No matter what level of fame and success someone might reach as a touring musician and artist, life on the road, living on a tour bus for months on end, isn’t really what most people think… I think most artists in country music, and any other genre, would tell you that.
There’s so much time spent away from family and friends, and just the general happenings of every day life, and it can really wear on you just as much when you’re missing something good as when you get a call from home with bad news and you’re not there.
In an interview with Kelleigh Bannen on Today’s Country, Zach Top opened up about the song “South of Sanity,” from his recent studio album Ain’t In It For My Health, which instantly transports the listener to a rainy night in the early 90s, as Top grapples not only with losing his mind, but also the prospect of losing his lover to the road in the heartbreaker.
And it was very much inspired by his real life heartbreak, as Top discussed how he had a marriage that didn’t work out when he first moved to Nashville. He also told Bannen how there was a specific show he played with the Red Clay Strays, and right as he was about to go onstage and sing with them, he got a phone call with bad news. He was fighting back tears about to walk out, and he says he took, a drag on his cigarette and the show went on:
“Played a couple shows with the Red Clay Strays, we had already done our show and they were going on after us, and I was supposed to go up and do a song with them.
And I got a call with some bad news, and I was like, sitting over on the side of the stage or standing in the wings, like one song left and then I was going out. And I’m like, trying not to bawl my eyes out, and it’s like, put your phone back in your pocket, take a drag on your cigarette, and let’s go sing.
I had a marriage that didn’t work out when I first moved here, I was married. And yeah, messed that up, and so that’s that’s part of that song too.”
It’s those types of moments that really test the appeal and value in being a touring musician, because I think most people would decide those types of trials make it too hard to do for a living, no matter how talented they may be.
In terms of his marriage, I think most people know that he was married before, to his college sweetheart named Kinzi from 2020 until early 2024, when she filed for divorce. Of course, they’ve kept many of the details private, but that’s the gist of it.
It takes an incredible amount of sacrifice to do what Top does for a living, clearly his first marriage didn’t work out and I’m assuming his music career was at least a small factor in what was probably a complicated situation in general, and while he’s obviously incredible talented and has a very promising, very long career ahead of him, these types of stories make me wonder how they can do it:
@thekelleighbannen Sometimes you get hit with bad news right as you’re about to walk out on stage. In 2013 I found out my dad had moved out right before playing a show. Exactly to Zach’s point, you shake it off and you put on the best show you can. Loved this convo and absolutely love this album. @Zach Top you are the real deal man. #southofsanity #countrymusic ♬ South Of Sanity – Zach Top
It hits a little different knowing the full story behind it now…
“South Of Sanity”
Zach Top Tour Dates:
August 20—Gray, TN—Appalachian Fair
August 21—Savannah, GA—Enmarket Arena*
August 22—Birmingham, AL—Coca-Cola Amphitheater*
August 23—Biloxi, MS—Mississippi Coast Coliseum*
August 28—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden Arena*
August 29—Burgettstown, PA—The Pavilion at Star Lake*
August 30—Clarkston, MI—Pine Knob Music Theatre*
September 26—College Station, TX—Live at the Station
September 27—Lubbock, TX—Cook’s Garage+
September 28—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre‡
September 29—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre‡
October 3—Charlottesville, VA—John Paul Jones Arena‡
October 4—Ocean City, MD—Country Calling 2025
October 9—Knoxville, TN— Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center+
October 10—Louisville, KY—KFC Yum! Center+
October 11—Evansville, IN—Ford Center+
October 16—Brandon, MS—Brandon Amphitheater+
October 17—Bossier City, LA—Brookshire Grocery Arena+
October 18—Oklahoma City, OK—Paycom Center+
October 23—Greensboro, NC—First Horizon Coliseum+
October 24—Charleston, SC—Credit One Stadium+
October 25—Simpsonville, SC—Greenville Country Music Festival
October 30—Missoula, MT—Adams Center‡
October 31—Billings, MT—MetraPark – First Interstate Arena at Metrapark‡
November 1—Casper, WY—Ford Wyoming Center‡
November 6—Hollywood, FL—Stars and Strings 2025
November 7—Bismarck, ND—Bismarck Event Center‡
November 8—Rapid City, SD—Summit Arena at The Monument‡
November 13—Eugene, OR—Matthew Knight Arena‡
November 14—Seattle, WA—Climate Pledge Arena‡
November 15—Vancouver, BC—Rogers Arena‡
November 22—Kennewick, WA—Toyota Center‡
November 23—Kennewick, WA—Toyota Center‡
December 12—Las Vegas, NV—MGM Grand Garden Arena‡
*as part of Dierks Bentley’s Broken Branches Tour
+with special guest Andy Buckner
‡with special guest Jake WorthingtonThe post Zach Top Says “South Of Sanity” Came From A Real Place Of Pain After His Marriage Ended: “I’m Trying Not To Bawl My Eyes Out” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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