10 Things You Need To Know About The 2014 Polaris Music Prize Gala

The 2014 Polaris Music Prize Gala has arrived.

That means some time late in the evening on Monday, September 22 the best Canadian album released in the last year based on artistic merit (with no regard for genre, professional affiliation, or sales history) will be declared.

Here are the things you need to know:

1) The 10 albums contending for this year’s Polaris Prize are:

Arcade Fire – Reflektor

Basia Bulat – Tall Tall Shadow

Mac DeMarco – Salad Days

Drake – Nothing Was The Same

Jessy Lanza – Pull My Hair Back

Owen Pallett – In Conflict

Shad – Flying Colours

Tanya Tagaq – Animism

Timber Timbre – Hot Dreams

YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN — UZU

The 10 records were voted in by a nationwide panel of 200+ music critics who up-voted these selections from an initial 40 album Long List.

2) An 11-member Polaris Grand Jury will be voting to determine who wins this year’s Polaris Prize. They can be found HERE.

3) Six of the 10 Short List-nominated acts will be performing at the Gala: Basia Bulat, Mac DeMarco, Jessy Lanza, Owen Pallett, Shad and Tanya Tagaq. Additionally, members of Arcade Fire, Timber Timbre and YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN will be in attendance.

4) If you want to attend the Polaris Gala at The Carlu in Toronto there are a super-limited number of public balcony tickets still available for sale. You can purchase them via Ticketfly here.

5) Actor/comedian Jay Baruchel is hosting the Polaris Gala. The soundtrack to his first feel-up session included Moist and Our Lady Peace.

6) If you can’t make it to Toronto we’ll miss you, but there are other ways to take in the Polaris Gala. Namely…

* The live webcast of the event presented by AUX TV. This will be available at the following link.

* Fans of the radio experience can listen live on Sirius XM channels Iceberg Sirius 161 and The Verge XM 173.

* Melissa Hetu from our official French media partner BRBR-TFO will also be helping host a Gala pre-show.

7) There will be a range of highly sought-after Polaris collectibles available at the Gala. These include…

* A limited number of the specially commissioned 2014 Polaris Posters available for purchase.

* A very limited number of our Sam The Record Man-inspired commemorative tee (note: this may be the last of ’em so if you want one… get it now).

* A limited edition 2014 Polaris program guide for guests at the Gala.

* A special split seven-inch single featuring Short List nominees for guests at the Gala.

8) People who purchase something at the Polaris merch table may also receive a complimentary seven-inch Holy Shad single (limited quantities, while supplies last).

9) Snacks. There will be some available at the Gala for table guests. We recommend you eat a proper dinner before coming to the event, though.

10) The After-Party. The cheers of victory, the tears of defeat and the overwhelming sense of cathartic blowout that is the Polaris Gala After-Party will take place in The Carlu’s Round Room following the award announcement. The rock ‘n’ roll outfit known as Dwayne Gretzky will be performing.

Finally, here’s last year’s Gala to give you a taste of what you’re in store for: