The Polaris Music Prize will not be holding its annual gala to award a winner this year, organizers announced today.
Due to the coronavirus-related lockdown, the winner of the 2020 Polaris Music Prize — awarded to the "artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales" by a panel of music journalists — will be revealed in a "special cinematic event" on October 19.
The livestreamed event will honour each of the 10 shortlisted finalists with a commissioned film by a Canadian filmmaker. The presentation will conclude by announcing this year's winner.
The Polaris Music Prize has typically been awarded at a gala in Toronto featuring tributes to all 10 shortlisted albums and musical performances from select finalists. This year's gala was initially scheduled for September 21 at the Carlu, home of the gala for the last several years.
The 10 shortlisted finalists for this year's $50,000 prize will be revealed on July 15, selected from a pool of 40 longlisted albums that were revealed in June, including records by U.S. Girls, Lido Pimienta, Caribou, Daniel Caesar, Andy Shauf, Jessie Reyez and Allie X.
Due to the coronavirus-related lockdown, the winner of the 2020 Polaris Music Prize — awarded to the "artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales" by a panel of music journalists — will be revealed in a "special cinematic event" on October 19.
The livestreamed event will honour each of the 10 shortlisted finalists with a commissioned film by a Canadian filmmaker. The presentation will conclude by announcing this year's winner.
The Polaris Music Prize has typically been awarded at a gala in Toronto featuring tributes to all 10 shortlisted albums and musical performances from select finalists. This year's gala was initially scheduled for September 21 at the Carlu, home of the gala for the last several years.
The 10 shortlisted finalists for this year's $50,000 prize will be revealed on July 15, selected from a pool of 40 longlisted albums that were revealed in June, including records by U.S. Girls, Lido Pimienta, Caribou, Daniel Caesar, Andy Shauf, Jessie Reyez and Allie X.