Jeremy Dutcher and Elisapie arrive on the red carpet for the Juno Awards in Halifax, Sunday, March 24, 2024. Albums by Elisapie and Dutcher are among the projects shortlisted for this year's Polaris Music Prize.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
An array of familiar names hold spots on this year’s Polaris Music Prize short list.
Montreal singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin, Toronto rockers the Beaches and Grammy winner Allison Russell are among the 10 contenders for this year’s $50,000 award for best Canadian album.
They’re joined by other established homegrown artists who include rapper Tobi, Inuk musician Elisapie and previous Polaris winner Jeremy Dutcher.
In recent years, the Polaris short list has exposed burgeoning Canadian acts to a wider national audience, but in a rare instance, seven of this year’s contenders have already won Junos, the country’s top music award.
Among them is DJ and producer Bambii who picked up her first Juno in Halifax earlier this year.
Other artists rounding out the Polaris list include Toronto rapper DijahSB, Calgary drag queen rock project Cindy Lee and Montreal punk band Nobro.
The Polaris winner will be announced Sept. 17 during a gala presentation at Toronto’s Massey Hall that will include performances by many of the artists.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2024.