Class of 2027: Your Herndon Playlist is here

For the eighth consecutive year, I’m excited to share a “hype” playlist for the Herndon Climb, this one for the Class of 2027. Sorry for the delay, folks. I’m “this close” to finishing up my book – Flying High, Diving Deep: Lessons learned, memories made, and relationships forged as a two-time military academy parent – and that’s taken up more time than I expected. (fingers crossed that I’ll have it done by Memorial Day).

But this year’s edition is pretty special for two reasons.

First, I’m expecting this will be my last go-round with a Herndon Playlist. I enjoy pulling together songs that reflect the Plebe experience and weaving them together with anecdotes and stories but I’m not sure I can keep hitting the mark. I’ve had some great help for the first seven, including the Academy Insider himself Grant Vermeer, the amazing artist Kristin Cronic, and author Annie Shine. And let’s not forget the year Susan Weisberg brought along Chester Midshipmouse to help build the playlist. Which leads me to the second thing that makes this year’s playlist special.

My son, the original My Kid The Mid, pored over seven years worth of playlists and came up with the five “Most Plebe” songs out of all of them. He also has a couple of surprises to share on this year’s playlist. We had intended to do the playlist live (which we did last year) but, well, the “needs of the Navy” took priority. So instead, we sat inside the Cadet Gym at the United States Air Force Academy and recorded the segments while we were watching his sister and the rest of the Air Force cheerleaders practice before a football game. You know how it is as a Midshipman – you learn how to Figure It Out. And we did.

So without further adieu, here is the Class of 2027 Herndon Playlist, the last in a series! (try this link if the player below doesn’t work)