The Polaris Music Prize, presented by CBC Music and produced by Blue Ant Media, is heading north. Celebrating its 11th year, the 2016 Polaris Music Prize Long List will be announced Wednesday, June 15th at the Yukon Transportation Museum in Whitehorse, Yukon. The announcement of the 40 titles that comprise the Long List, produced in conjunction with Yukon’s Film & Sound Commission, will begin at 12 p.m. PT with a special live stream broadcast on the Polaris Facebook page.
CBC Radio 2 will feature a special hour-long broadcast celebrating the Polaris Music Prize Long List on Drive with Rich Terfry at 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. NT). Local CBC Radio 2 frequencies can be found at cbc.ca/frequency or the broadcast can be streamed online at cbcmusic.ca.
As with years past in Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax, special local guests will be on hand in Whitehorse to help announce the list. The announcement will also feature a special live performance by a 2016 Long Listed artist.
Polaris will also produce a Yukon-focused artists’ event with support from Government of Yukon’s Department of Economic Development. This event will include a panel discussion, demo listening and one-on-one meetings with local Yukon artists.
“On behalf of the Government of Yukon, I look forward to welcoming the Polaris Music Prize to Whitehorse,” Yukon Minister of Economic Development Stacey Hassard said. “We’re pleased to provide support to Music Yukon and Polaris to host an event that will provide developmental feedback and support to our local artists. Congratulations to all of this year’s long-listed artists.” These events are also supported in part by Music Yukon, NVD hotels and Yukon Brewing.
The Polaris Music Prize will announce the Short List at the Carlu in Toronto on Thursday, July 14th and the winner at the Polaris Gala on Monday, September 19th. CBC Music and AUX.tv will stream the gala live.
The eligibility period for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016. An independent jury of 194 music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada determine the Long List and Short List. Eleven people are selected from the larger jury pool to serve on the Grand Jury. They will convene the night of the gala to select the Polaris Music Prize winner.
The Polaris Music Prize will award $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. The nine other Short Listed artists will receive $3,000 Courtesy of Slaight Music. Polaris is judged solely on artistic merit without consideration of genre or record sales. Past winners have included Buffy Sainte-Marie (2015), Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007), and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).
