Daniel Lanois, Savannah Ré and Kathleen Edwards are among the artists with albums on the 2021 Polaris Music Prize Long List, which was unveiled on Tuesday.
Among the 40 albums selected by a panel of music writers, broadcasters and programmers are Lanois’ Heavy Sun, Ré’s Opia and Edwards’ Total Freedom. Also on the Long List are Charlotte Cardin’s Phoenix and Art Bergmann’s Late Stage Empire Dementia.
The Polaris Music Prize honours the best Canadian album released in the year that ended May 31, 2021.
The Long List will be whittled down to a Short List of 10 that will be announced on July 15. The winning artist, to be announced later this year, receives $50,000 and each of the nine finalists gets $3,000.
Last year’s Polaris Music Prize went to God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It by Backxwash.
Polaris Music Prize 2021 Long List:
Art Bergmann - Late Stage Empire Dementia
Bernice - Eau De Bonjourno
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson - Theory of Ice
BIG|BRAVE - Vital
Cadence Weapon - Parallel World
Charlotte Cardin - Phoenix
CFCF - memoryland
Clairmont the Second - IT’S NOT HOW IT SOUNDS
Helena Deland - Someone New
DijahSB - Head Above The Waters
Kathleen Edwards - Total Freedom
Dominique Fils-Aimé - Three Little Words
Fiver with the Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition - Fiver with the Atlantic School of Spontaneous Composition
Thanya Iyer - KIND
Yves Jarvis - Sundry Rock Song Stock
Rochelle Jordan - Play With the Changes
LAL - Meteors Could Come Down
Daniel Lanois - Heavy Sun
Thierry Larose - Cantalou
Russell Louder - Humor
Elliot Maginot - Easy Morning
Mustafa - When Smoke Rises
Laura Niquay - Waska Matisiwin
Nyssa - Girls Like Me
The OBGMs - The Ends
Dorothea Paas - Anything Can’t Happen
Klô Pelgag - Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
Savannah Ré - Opia
Allison Russell - Outside Child
Julien Sagot - Sagot
Sargeant X Comrade - Magic Radio
Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Philadelphia
Yu Su - Yellow River Blue
Julian Taylor - The Ridge
TEKE::TEKE - Shirushi
TOBi - Elements Vol. 1
Vagina Witchcraft - Vagina Witchcraft
The Weather Station - Ignorance
Zoon - Bleached Wavves