2016 Polaris Music Short List Is Here

The Polaris Music Prize, presented by CBC Music and produced by Blue Ant Media, announced its 2016 Short List of Canadian albums today.

Here’s the Short List:

Black Mountain – IV

Basia Bulat – Good Advice

Grimes – Art Angels

Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION

Kaytranada – 99.9%

Jessy Lanza – Oh No

PUP – The Dream Is Over

Andy Shauf – The Party

U.S. Girls – Half Free

White Lung – Paradise

Bulat (2008, 2014, 2016) now joins Caribou, Drake, Metric, Shad and Owen Pallett as the only acts to be nominated for the Short List on three separate occasions. This is second time Black Mountain, Grimes and Jessy Lanza have made the Short List. Carly Rae Jepsen, Kaytranada, PUP, Andy Shauf, U.S. Girls and White Lung are all first-time Short List nominees.

Announcing the 2016 Short List were this year’s Polaris Gala hosts: Tom Power, CBC Radio 2 Morning host and Polaris jurist, and Amanda Parris, host of CBC Radio 2’s Marvin’s Room and CBC’s Exhibitionists. The Polaris Music Prize Gala will be held at The Carlu in Toronto on Monday, September 19 at 8 p.m. ET and streamed live on CBC Music’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

At 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. NT) this evening, CBC Radio 2 will feature a special hour-long broadcast celebrating the Polaris Music Prize Short List on Drive with Rich Terfry. Local CBC Radio 2 frequencies can be found at cbc.ca/frequency or the broadcast can be streamed online at cbcmusic.ca.

The Polaris Music Prize will award $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. Each of the nine other Short List artists will receive $3,000 courtesy of Slaight Music. Judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales, the prize’s past winners are 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).

The eligibility period for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016. An independent jury of music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada determines the Long List and Short List. Eleven people are selected from the larger jury pool to serve on the Grand Jury and they will convene the night of the Polaris Gala to select the Polaris Music Prize winner.