As has become a yearly tradition, the summer months have been a flurry of hype leading up to the presentation of the Polaris Music Prize. The annual Canadian music award previously unveiled its long list of 40 nominees and then its shortlist of ten. This evening (September 19), during a star-studded ceremony at Toronto's Masonic Temple, the prize's grand jury announced its pick for the best album released between May 31, 2009 and June 1, 2010:
The Suburbs by Arcade Fire.
Arcade Fire won a beefed-up prize of $30,000, plus the destination of their LP being recognized as the country's best release from the past year based on artistic merit alone. Of course, Arcade Fire's win comes in the wake of the band's Grammy and Juno victories earlier this year, when they won the Album of the Year awards.
The awards gala featured performances from the majority of the shortlist nominees: Austra, Braids, Galaxie, Hey Rosetta!, Ron Sexsmith and Timber Timbre. Other contenders Destroyer, Colin Stetson and the Weeknd, as well as Arcade Fire, were notably absent from the bill.
The ceremony was hosted by CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence and Fucked Up's Damian Abraham. If you missed the live webcast and radio coverage, you can watch the ceremony on MuchMusic this Saturday (September 24) at 10 p.m. EST.
Arcade Fire are the sixth winner of the Polaris Music Prize. Past winners are: Karkwa, Fucked Up, Caribou, Patrick Watson and Final Fantasy.
Arcade Fire won a beefed-up prize of $30,000, plus the destination of their LP being recognized as the country's best release from the past year based on artistic merit alone. Of course, Arcade Fire's win comes in the wake of the band's Grammy and Juno victories earlier this year, when they won the Album of the Year awards.
The awards gala featured performances from the majority of the shortlist nominees: Austra, Braids, Galaxie, Hey Rosetta!, Ron Sexsmith and Timber Timbre. Other contenders Destroyer, Colin Stetson and the Weeknd, as well as Arcade Fire, were notably absent from the bill.
The ceremony was hosted by CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence and Fucked Up's Damian Abraham. If you missed the live webcast and radio coverage, you can watch the ceremony on MuchMusic this Saturday (September 24) at 10 p.m. EST.
Arcade Fire are the sixth winner of the Polaris Music Prize. Past winners are: Karkwa, Fucked Up, Caribou, Patrick Watson and Final Fantasy.
