Gord Downie, Feist, Leonard Cohen And More Make 2017 Polaris Music Prize Short List

By Corey Atad. Published: 13 Jul 2017 12:36 PM

The Polaris Music Prize has announced its 2017 shortlist for the best Canadian album of the year.

CBC Radio 2 Morning host and Polaris jury member Raina Douris announced the shortlist Thursday, and it features an impressive range of Canadian talent, including Leonard Cohen, Gord Downie, Feist, A Tribe Called Red, and more.

Here is the full list of nominated albums:

A Tribe Called Red – “We Are The Halluci Nation”
BADBADNOTGOOD – “IV”
Leonard Cohen – “You Want It Darker”
Gord Downie – “Secret Path”
Feist – “Pleasure”
Lisa LeBlanc – “Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?”
Lido Pimienta – “La Papessa”
Tanya Tagaq – “Retribution”
Leif Vollebekk – “Twin Solitude”
Weaves – “Weaves”

Feist and Tanya Tagaq have both won the prize before, in 2012 and 2014 respectively. Other past Polaris winners include Arcade Fire, Final Fantasy, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Last year’s winner was Kaytranada for the album “99.9%”.

CBC Radio 2 will host an hour-long special at 6 p.m. Thursday celebrating the Polaris shortlist.

The winner of the Polaris Music Prize will be announced at a gala hosted by Douris on Sept. 18. The gala will be livestreamed on the Polaris website, on CBC Music’s Facebook page, and their YouTube channel.

The winner of the prize will receive $50,000, with the rest of the shortlisted artists receiving $3,000, courtesy of Slaight Music. The Polaris Music Prize was first handed out in 2006, and is presented by CBC Music to the best Canadian album of the year. The winner is selected by a jury of eleven music journalists, broadcasters, and music bloggers across Canada.