Toronto artists Metric and METZ, as well as Hamilton-based Whitehorse, are among the 10 artists shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. The picks for this year's award were announced at a ceremony yesterday at the Drake Hotel in Toronto.
"It's an interesting breakdown every year," Steve Jordan, the founder and executive director of Polaris, says in an article in Rolling Stone.
Polaris is a not-for-profit that honours one band or artist each year with a prestigious $30,000 award designed to celebrate diversity and creativity within Canadian music. Albums are nominated and judged by a series of panelists, with the finalist being announced at a gala in Toronto on September 23.
"It goes all over the map, but more importantly people really listen to each other in the internal discussions, even the ones who don't weigh in and aren't vocal," Jordan continues. "People still hear the arguments; they still hear someone's passion for a record that they may not themselves understand. It's an unseen benefit of Polaris is the openness we're instilling in the music media in Canada. People are really seriously considering their ballot every time they vote."
Eligible albums must have been released between June 1st, 2012, and May 31st, 2013. Runners up will receive $2,000. The awards have been given out annually since 2006, with past winners including Owen Pallett, Feist, and Arcade Fire.
Read the full story
here.
Original source: Rolling Stone