Money aside, the Polaris Music Prize Long List has opened doors and opportunities to Canadian artists, regardless of winning, so getting on the list is kind of a big deal. 

If there is any theme to this year’s short list, it’s that experimental/ weirder and sometimes heavy Quebec music is quickly getting its day in the sun. A problem that many in the Quebecois music industry have commented on about Polaris in the past is the lack of French jurors, but this year we have 40% of the list being French-associated artists, including Bibi Club, Choses Sauvages, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Marie Davidson, N NAO,  Men I Trust, etc. Whether or not Polaris has more French or Quebec-based jurors this year is a possibility, but the French representation is certainly here. 

One notable Long List album that has been in the headlines as of late is Bells Larsen’s dual folk duet masterpiece, Blurring Time. Larsen was forced to cancel the American leg of his supporting tour after US Immigration decided to no longer recognize his gender identity as a trans artist. 

The Long List contains 16 first-time nominees, as well as two past winners (Backxwash, Caribou) and one past Polaris Heritage Prize recipient (Rick White, as part of Eric’s Trip). The jurors dove through a total of 189 albums before picking 40 for the Long List.

Polaris has also announced a new SOCAN Polaris Song Prize, which will come with its own Long List on June 24 and Short List on July 19, with a prize of $10,000 to the winner. Both the Album and song winners will be announced on Sept 16 at Massey Hall in Toronto.

Another big announcement was unveiled in the form of the Polaris Music Festival. The festival will be a month-long, featuring over 10 events including “new programming like Salons, Listening Parties, Poster Exhibits, and musical performances, all culminating in the annual Concert & Award Ceremony.” The goal of the festival is to showcase the talent of the 600+ past Polaris nominees. 

Here is the Long List:

Art d’Ecco – Serene Demon
Backxwash – Only Dust Remains
Quinton Barnes – CODE NOIR
Bibi Club – Feu de garde
Basia Bulat – Basia’s Palace
Caribou – Honey
Lou-Adriane Cassidy – Journal d’un Loup-Garou
Choses Sauvages – Choses Sauvages III
Cold Specks – Light For The Midnight
Antoine Corriveau – Oiseau de Nuit
Marie Davidson – City Of Clowns
Destroyer – Dan’s Boogie
Myriam Gendron – Mayday
Gloin – All of your anger is actually shame (and I bet that makes you angry)
Saya Gray – SAYA
Hildegard – Jour 1596
Yves Jarvis – All Cylinders
Kaia Kater – Strange Medicine
Bells Larsen – Blurring Time
Richard Laviolette – All Wild Things Are Shy
Wyatt C. Louis – Chandler
Kelly McMichael – After The Sting Of It
Men I Trust – Equus Asinus
Mustafa – Dunya
N NAO – Nouveau langage
Nemahsis – Verbathim
Eliza Niemi – Progress Bakery
The OBGMs – SORRY, IT’S OVER
Dorothea Paas – Think Of Mist
Klô Pelgag – Abracadabra
Population II – Maintenant Jamais
Ribbon Skirt – Bite Down
Ariane Roy – Dogue
Mike Shabb – Sewaside III
Sister Ray – Believer
Snotty Nose Rez Kids – RED FUTURE
The Weather Station – Humanhood
Rick White and The Sadies – Rick White and The Sadies
Donovan Woods – Things Were Never Good If They’re Not Good Now
Yoo Doo Right – From the Heights of Our Pastureland