Zach Top, Shelby Lynne, Rosie Flores, and Molly Tuttle Discuss Working in Diverse Music Genres

What qualifies as country music? And who decides? These age-old, recurring questions have been part of country music since its commercial beginnings one hundred years ago.

"I think people have had an appetite for my kind of country for a little while," Zach Top told "Billboard." For his 2024 album "Cold Beer & Country Music," Top worked with Carson Chamberlain—Keith Whitley's bandleader and steel player—as well as veteran country songwriting aces like Tim Nichols and Paul Overstreet.

Like Top, Molly Tuttle learned to play bluegrass at a young age, a tradition passed down by her father. In 2024, Tuttle picked up her second consecutive Grammy award for Bluegrass Album of the Year. She also returned to the studio to record "Into the Wild," a breezy EP which features songs by Jefferson Airplane and Olivia Rodrigo.

Grammy-winning artist Shelby Lynne made another career statement with her 2024 album "Consequences of the Crown," a soulful display of elegance and vulnerability, as well as her first album recorded in Nashville since leaving in 1998. She capped the year with a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association.

Country and rockabilly singer, guitarist, and songwriter Rosie Flores was also nationally recognized. In 2024, Flores was named a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, an honor which recognizes recipients for artistic excellence, lifetime achievement, and contributions to the nation’s traditional arts heritage.

Follow these stories and more. The annual Museum exhibit "American Currents: State of the Music" offers a broad look at country music over the past year by highlighting artists shaping the genre.

Reserve tickets: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.or…