Set to coincide with the Indie Awards, the shortlist for 2008's Galaxie Rising Stars Award of the CBC was announced today by Rogers MusicStore Canadian Music Week (corporate ownership tags create quite a mouthful).
The Galaxie Rising Stars Award is voted on by the nation's music critics, in opposition to the fan-selected Indie Awards. Canadian music media members were asked to select their five favorite home-grown independent releases of 2007, to be based solely on "artistic merit."
An original program with the mandate of discovering, encouraging and promoting new artists, the Galaxie Rising Stars Program of the CBC will provide a $3,000 cash prize to the lucky winner.
"For the recipients, a Rising Stars Award is a mark of respect and recognition. For Galaxie, it is our way of showing how proud we are of our new artists!" said Jean-Richard Lefebvre, Director of Development, Partnerships and French Programming.
Proving once again that 'new' is a relative term in the music industry, only two of the finalists are supporting a debut album. Here's the boiled-down list of nominees comprising the Galaxie shortlist this year:
Basia Bulat Oh My Darling (Hardwood)
The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse (Outside)
Caribou Andorra (Domino)
Jenn Grant Orchestra for the Moon (Paris 1919)
Joel Plaskett Emergency Ashtray Rock (Maplemusic)
The New Pornographers Challengers (Last Gang)
Stars In Our Bedroom After the War (Arts & Crafts)
Tegan and Sara The Con (Superclose)
The Weakerthans Reunion Tour (Epitaph)
Wintersleep Welcome to the Night Sky (Labwork)
The winner will be announced at the 2008 Indie Awards, which are taking place on March 8 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel's Canadian Room in Toronto. Tickets for the award ceremony are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, Ticketbreak, or the Canadian Music Week website.
The Galaxie Rising Stars Award is voted on by the nation's music critics, in opposition to the fan-selected Indie Awards. Canadian music media members were asked to select their five favorite home-grown independent releases of 2007, to be based solely on "artistic merit."
An original program with the mandate of discovering, encouraging and promoting new artists, the Galaxie Rising Stars Program of the CBC will provide a $3,000 cash prize to the lucky winner.
"For the recipients, a Rising Stars Award is a mark of respect and recognition. For Galaxie, it is our way of showing how proud we are of our new artists!" said Jean-Richard Lefebvre, Director of Development, Partnerships and French Programming.
Proving once again that 'new' is a relative term in the music industry, only two of the finalists are supporting a debut album. Here's the boiled-down list of nominees comprising the Galaxie shortlist this year:
Basia Bulat Oh My Darling (Hardwood)
The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse (Outside)
Caribou Andorra (Domino)
Jenn Grant Orchestra for the Moon (Paris 1919)
Joel Plaskett Emergency Ashtray Rock (Maplemusic)
The New Pornographers Challengers (Last Gang)
Stars In Our Bedroom After the War (Arts & Crafts)
Tegan and Sara The Con (Superclose)
The Weakerthans Reunion Tour (Epitaph)
Wintersleep Welcome to the Night Sky (Labwork)
The winner will be announced at the 2008 Indie Awards, which are taking place on March 8 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel's Canadian Room in Toronto. Tickets for the award ceremony are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, Ticketbreak, or the Canadian Music Week website.
