The Polaris Music Prize has revealed the Long List of 40 albums nominated for the annual prize. The Polaris Music Prize is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025, and the organization announced two new initiatives.
The SOCAN Polaris Song Prize and 2025 Polaris Festival were announced along with the Long list members at an event at Paradise Wine Bar in Toronto’s west end which also featured an art installation by Polaris Community Partner Oasis Skateboard Factory.
The Polaris Music Prize is unique in that it considers musical merit only, without regard for sales figures or genre. The winner received $30,000 courtesy of the Slaight Family Foundation to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year.
Past winners include Jeremy Dutcher (2024 and 2018), Pierre Kwenders (2022), Lido Pimienta (2017), and Tanya Tagaq (2014).
The new SOCAN Polaris Song Prize category, is the first expansion of the Prize since the Hall of Fame Heritage Prize was introduced in 2015. The Polaris Song Prize will be selected by the same jury based on artistic merit alone. On June 24, a 20-song Long List will be announced, and the five remaining Song Short List will be revealed on July 29.
The inaugural SOCAN Polaris Song Prize winner will receive $10,000, to be split between the song’s Canadian performers and the song’s credited Canadian songwriter(s).
The Long List was compiled from the suggestions of more than 200 music industry writers and professionals who make up the initial jury — including yours truly. The very long initial list consisted of 189 albums.
This year, the official Long List includes 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).
Here’s a closer look at two of the nominees that ended up on this Jury Member’s list.
Yes, classical music fans, the Montreal duo of Ouri and Helena Deland is named after the medieval German nun, composer and polymath Hildegard von Bingen. The title is a bit of a play on words, and suggests a previous historical era, but actually refers to how many days the two musicians spent writing and recording the 10-track album, which emerged from the prolonged inactivity of the COVID pandemic.
Stylistically, you’d call the music a mix of avant-garde jazz/contemporary music, RnB, electronica, and more, with a sense of artistic invention in every track. Ouri’s classical music training (she can lay cello, piano, and harp, along with her compositional abilities), emerges in track titles like “Bach In Town”, and peers through the musical layers in Beverly, an enchanting contrapuntal piece with ethereal vocals, Le Jardin la Nuit, and other tracks.
Canadian singer-songwriter, guitar, piano and banjo player Kaïa Kater is a native of Montreal. She’s been playing the banjo since she was 12, and studied in West Virginia on a banjo scholarship. With a mix of traditional banjo technique and contemporary-minded lyrics, she’s put her own unique stamp on the time-honoured instrument.
Strange Medicine is another pandemic baby, born of that contemplative time, and features guest appearances by musicians such as Allison Russell, Aoife O’Donovan, and Taj Mahal. Kater’s lyrics tackle society’s issues, like racism and sexism, imagining both revenge and healing for the wounds of both today and yesterday.
Musically, on her latest album she expands on the banjo with jazzy percussion inspired by Brian Blade, and orchestration that owes a nod to the likes of Steve Reich and his minimalistic creed, as well as film composer Jonny Greenwood.
The Full 2025 Polaris Music Prize Album Long List is:
The Short List of 10 albums will be announced on July 10.
From the Short List, the 11-member super jury will vote on the winners in each category.
The winners will be announced during the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony Toronto’s Massey Hall on September 16. This will be the third straight year that Massey Hall serves as the venue for the Prize gala.
The Polaris Festival, presented by SiriusXM Canada, features new programming like Salons, Listening Parties, Poster Exhibits, and Concerts, and takes place in September leading up to the Concert & Award Ceremony, with the goal of shining a light on some of the hundreds of past nominees.
The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, the organization’s hall of fame for Canadian albums of distinction from the past, will move from October into late-summer. This year’s 12 nominated Heritage albums will be revealed on July 29.
The Awards Gala on September 16 will include 15 performances by nominees from the Short List.
In celebration of the Polaris Album Long List drop, you can get 25% off Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony tickets using code POLARIS25 — but only until June 15.
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