Ninajirachi, BOY SODA and Keli Holiday make 2026 NSW Music Prize shortlist

Ten acts have made the shortlist for the 2026 NSW Music Prize, with Ninajirachi, BOY SODA and Keli Holiday among the albums in contention.

The nominations were announced on Oct. 16. Winners will be revealed on Nov. 9 at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Foundation Hall in Sydney.

Ninajirachi is shortlisted with I Love My Computer, BOY SODA with SOULSTAR and Keli Holiday with Capital Fiction, Billboard reported. Each record is competing for the main prize. That award carries a prize of A$80,000, or 80,000 Australian dollars.

The wider shortlist of ten finalist acts also includes MAY-A, Esha Tewari and SPEED, The Music Network reported. DON WEST was also named as a finalist, according to the New South Wales government announcement. The government is the organiser of the prize, which is now in its second year.

BOY SODA and Keli Holiday have earned two chances at recognition. Both are also shortlisted for the 2026 NSW Breakthrough Artist of the Year award. That category sits alongside the main prize.

The main ceremony takes place in central Sydney. The Nov. 9 event at Foundation Hall will confirm the winners across the prize categories. No voting details have been announced in the material released so far.

Last year set the baseline. The inaugural NSW Music Prize winners were SPEED, BARKAA and Ninajirachi. That history was confirmed in a New South Wales government release dated Nov. 25, 2025.

It means two names are back. Both SPEED and Ninajirachi have moved from winning the first edition to contending for the second. BOY SODA and Keli Holiday arrive with album shortlistings and breakthrough nominations in the same year.

For fans, this means a short wait. The ten finalists are known, the venue is set, and the A$80,000 top award will be decided in Sydney in early November.