ERNEST Hosts Intimate Evening of Music, Magic and Meaning at The Ryman, Featuring Zach Top, Ashley Gorley and More

A night of acoustic gold lit up the Ryman Auditorium as ERNEST hosted Stars for Second Harvest, a benefit concert that not only showcased Nashville’s songwriting royalty but reminded everyone why country music continues to mean something deeper. It was equal parts living room jam session and a holy ritual - fitting for the Mother Church.

The songwriter’s round felt especially intimate, where ERNEST welcomed Ashley Gorley, Rivers Rutherford, and Brad and Brett Warren to join the stage with him.

In this setting, these weren't just hitmakers rattling off chart-toppers - they were storytellers stripping songs back to their bones and sharing where their roots were planted.

Gorley’s version of ‘You Should Probably Leave’ hit different when he revealed he wrote it over a decade before Stapleton recorded it. The Warren Brothers brought levity with ‘Red Solo Cup’ and emotional gravity with a powerful performance of ‘Lay Me Down’, offered as a tribute to the veterans and service members in the crowd.

Then came Zach Top, who took the energy from around the campfire to full on honky-tonk in seconds. With a throwback style that feels anything but dated, Top is proving that he’s not just carrying the torch for traditional country, he’s shaping its future.

The country prodigy's voice overflowed with warmth and charm. As he cracked a cold one on stage, he delivered standout originals like ‘Cold Beer & Country Music’ and the undeniable ballad, ‘Use Me’, which he introduced simply as “a cheatin’ song.”

Top also tipped his hat to tradition with two Merle Haggard covers - ‘Fever’ and ‘Yesterday’s Wine’, the latter a duet with ERNEST, closing the night with pure honky-tonk soul that somehow was a nod to both the past and future of country music.

Beyond the performances, the night carried a deeper purpose - raising funds for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, anchoring the music in a mission that matters. It was a reminder that country's soul isn’t just in the songs, rather, it's in the way the community shows up for one another -  ultimately turning the night at the Mother Church into a celebration of care and good country music.

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