The nominations are in! Voting will begin later today, MONDAY, January 26, 2026.
We listen to untold amounts of music every year from amazing West Virginia artists. The state is full of amazing story tellers and musicians that craft passionate songs that are on par with anything you’re hearing on popular radio. The editorial board of Born & Bred selected their nominations for song of the year from this awesome pool of music released in 2025. We submit them to you for your consideration when voting opens later today.
Eligibility requirements are listed below. Without further ado, here are the nominations for The 2025 Born & Bred SONG OF THE YEAR.
Take time to listen to each artist before voting opens.
ALABASTER BOXER – The Holiest Ghosts – Listen HERE
CORDUROY BROWN ft KINDRED VALLEY – Cross Your Mind – Listen HERE
DALCHORD – Ain’t The Brightest Lightbulb – Listen HERE
THE FARSIDE – Get2U – Listen HERE
VAN GILDER – Solar Eclipse – Listen HERE
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
This part is very important. To be eligible to be nominated, an artist must have released ORIGINAL music between December 1, 2024 and November 30, 2025. Music that came out in December 2025 will be eligible for the 2026 awards. The other requirement is that the artist must be either from West Virginia or live here now and base their career out of the state. So if an artist was born in Grafton, but now calls Nashville their home and released music in June of 2025 , they meet the eligibility requirements. If an artists was born in Wisconsin, but now calls West Virginia home and released original music in September 2025, they are eligible.
