With just a few days left to vote, Bridgeport's Zach McCord is battling for the top spot in the nationwide Dark Horse Recording contest. For the past day or so, he's been neck in neck with another competitor. Should McCord wind up in the No. 1 spot when voting concludes March 31, he will win a $15,000 recording session at the renowned Nashville studio. Cast your  vote HERE. Votes can be cast daily. 

 

The Bridgeport High School alum is very appreciative of the support he has received. When the final round of voting began earlier this month, he said: 

 

“Words don't exist in the English language to express how excited I am to have made it to the final round. There were 500 entries, 200 made it to the first round and now there are four of us. To be part of the 0.8% left is such a blessing.”

 

Since that time, one contestant has been disqualified and three remain. 

 

The contest is hosted by Dark Horse Institute/Dark Horse Recording, a top learning institute and audio recording studio, having produced artists including Faith Hill, Matchbox Twenty, The Fray, Relient K and Tim McGraw, to name a few. 

 

A 2009 graduate of Bridgeport High School and music performance major at Valley Forge Christian College, McCord learned about the "Nashville Dream Recording Contest" while doing some Internet surfing. He thereafter entered the Youtube video "Wait" (below), a project of Indie Elephant Production, which precedes other tunes including “Fallen,” “The Recipe,” “Rejoice” and “Better Left Unsaid.” Preliminary voting took place through March 16.

 

At first, attaining the grand prize seemed like a lofty goal, but now that it is within reach, he and his support system – including parents Jay and Kim McCord – are determined to make his musical dream come true.

 

“Coming this far has definitely made the reality of the situation shine a lot brighter to me,” he said. “This could be an absolute life-changer, and how great would it be to put Bridgeport on the map.”

 

The support McCord has received from all over has been incredible, but the support from all over West Virginia has really been overwhelming, he said.

 

“I would love to help establish West Virginia as a state that produces quality musicians, and with the support of the community we can make it happen,” he said.

 

Again, votes can be cast daily HERE.