Welcome to The Jammies Awards 2025, a year-end indie music awards episode celebrating the best songs, albums, EPs, and artists of 2025. This special edition of The Jammies highlights standout indie rock, indie folk, alternative, and emerging artists that defined my year of listening. From breakout EPs and unforgettable singles to hidden gems and jammiest tracks. Featuring dozens of artist nominations and approved music throughout the episode, this is the most music-packed Jammies episode to date and a great guide for discovering new indie music heading into 2026.

All music featured in this episode has been approved by the artists. If a nomination does not include music, it’s simply due to not hearing back in time. Thank you to every artist who responded and to everyone out there releasing music, the world is better because you do.

Major Awards and Nominees:

EP of the Year

Honorable Mentions:

She Ain’t About It – Vision Arcade

Otherworld – Rec Hall

Nominees:

Upstate – Brenn!

The Garden – Bo Staloch

where do we go from here – Nikki and The Barn Boys

Fall Back – Florence Road

Music for the Soul – Sam Barber

Nostalgia – Sons of Habit

It’s So Good To See You – Noah Richardson

Your Name Stuck to My Teeth – Elias Hix

Album of the Year

Nominees:

Recency Bias – Rum Jungle

Colorado’s On Fire Again – Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners

Old Mervs – Old Mervs

The Pit – Arcy Drive

When I Change My Mind I Don’t Mean It – Chance Peña

Dark – EDEN

Breach – Twenty One Pilots

bones – Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Thinking Too Much – Joshua Slone

Best Song of 2025

Nominees:

For the Jets – Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners

Best I Know – Old Mervs

Natural Disaster – Brenn!

Spinning – Chance Peña

City Walls – Twenty One Pilots

Eraser – The Terrys

Lonely Jester – Margot Sinclair

Lights Fall – Arcy Drive

Drowning – Nikki and The Barn Boys

Backwards – Rum Jungle

Artist of the Year

Nominees:

Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners

Sam Barber

Brenn!

Vision Arcade

Old Mervs

Florence Road

Who Ate All The Crayons

Rec Hall

Rum Jungle

The Stews

Best Artist Under 50,000 Monthly Spotify Listeners

Nominees:

Margot Sinclair

Who Ate All The Crayons

Nikki and The Barn Boys

Junkyard Cat

The Brungas

The Debtors

The High Lines

Certainly So (honorable mention)

Banger of the Year

Golden – HUNTR/X

One Of These Mornings – Zeds Dead

Dead Or Alive – Evening Elephants

Stone Man Rises (Wildcard) – Codfish

Jammiest Song of the Year

Nominees:

Too Much To Lose – The Stews

Best I Know – Old Mervs

Don’t You Give Up On Me Yet – Jonah Kagen

Golden – HUNTR/X

Doubletake – Edgehill

Eyes – Vision Arcade

Even If You Do – Certainly So

Supper – Who Ate All The Crayons

The Jammies returns in 2026 on February 27, continuing with monthly indie music discovery episodes released on the last Friday of every month.

Explore the Jammies Playlists for full context on every song and artist mentioned:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0GWa9NEHX6Gy3ijpJrghRz?si=jBBO888KSaOaVEPRji8hOg&pi=ELTjjFLIQgWMi&pt=ec54957ef120bf6dd178859c02b2960d

Thanks so much for listening!
Reach out to the show via email TheJammiesShow@gmail.com

-Matt

We’re closing out the 2025 Year in Review with a deep dive into the music that carried me through the second half of the year. This episode focuses on all the music that worked well for me from July through December, specifically the music that has stuck with me for months now, all the music I was ecstatic to get back to!

Along the way, I revisit artists like Florence Road, Certainly So, EDEN, Rec Hall, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Sam Barber, and many more. Going over all my favorite albums and EPs, as well as a long list of singles that I loved all summer, fall, and into winter.

This episode is about reflecting on what actually held up, highlighting key tracks, and wrapping up the year with a full snapshot of my listening habits. If you’re searching for indie music discovery, year-end music recommendations, or the best albums of 2025, this one ties everything together.

Episode’s Spotify Playlist: Every song mentioned, all in one playlist (link below)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2OoGrKrDXJcHOwI9pmr0ic?si=h9k_Yb8sTyWTdKmdBKejKQ&pt=ad62bfe20fe3e3c9a8f51fc2b6c96775&pi=4qfR_DWUSl-yR

Find everything else at linktr.ee/thejammies

Thanks so much for listening!
Reach out to the show via email TheJammiesShow@gmail.com

-Matt

We’re kicking off the first half of the 2025 Year in Review with a massive dive into the artists, albums, EPs, and songs that stuck with me the most from January through June — the music I kept coming back to all year long.

We start in January with two huge discoveries: the Strokes-flavored rock of Margot Sinclair and the slow-burn guitar ballads from The Stews. From there, we move into a packed February and March, where Rum Jungle’s Recency Bias and RMCM’s Colorados On Fire Again cement themselves as some of my most replayed albums of the year. March also brought one of my favorites overall — the debut self-titled album from Old Mervs, which absolutely delivered front to back.

April keeps the streak alive with the long-awaited debut album from Arcy Drive, plus a deep return into the world of Brenn!, one of 2025’s standout folk/country voices. We also spend time with artists like Michael Marcagi, who slotted perfectly into that spring listening zone.

In May and June, new favorites emerged: the emotional, cinematic songwriting of Bo Staloch, the rising indie-rock energy of Vision Arcade, and the fantastic EP where do we go from here from Nikki and the Barn Boys — along with a massive list of singles that colored the first half of the year.

In this episode, I highlight 2–3 essential tracks for each artist or album, break down what made these releases special for me, and revisit the songs that truly held up months later.

Episodes drop once a month, playlists are linked, and timestamps are included so you can jump right to what you want to hear.

Episode’s Spotify Playlist: Every song mentioned, all in one playlist (link below)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5BNdAVS2w23hYFnmJdTopC?si=8DCJt-YhRNKBClu_JC9wng&pi=iNxvGgDDQ1Cn4&pt=f05cb8357efa79847120670aaabd07f6

Linktree for everything else:

https://linktr.ee/TheJammies

Thanks so much for listening!
Reach out to the show via email TheJammiesShow@gmail.com

-Matt