The 2015 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2015 at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario. [1] The event was hosted by children's entertainer Fred Penner.
In May 2015, Slaight Communications announced an additional contribution to the Polaris fund which saw the prize for the winning album increased to $50,000, [2] as well as $3,000 to each of the non-winning nominees.
The ten-album shortlist was announced on July 16. [3]
The prize's preliminary 40-album longlist was announced on June 16 at the Carleton Music Bar and Grill in Halifax, Nova Scotia. [1]
In 2015, the Polaris committee also launched the Heritage Prize, an awards program to honour classic Canadian albums released before the creation of the Polaris Prize. [4] Each year four shortlists of albums from four historical periods in Canadian music will be released, following which a public online vote will choose which album to honour. [4] These will be announced separately from the main Polaris Prize.
The winners for 2015 were announced on October 9. [5] The four winning albums will be honoured with a tribute concert in Toronto in early 2016, a trophy and the sale of a limited edition commemorative print. [5]
Joni Mitchell, Blue 
Dennis David Coles, better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success. Ghostface Killah debuted his solo career with Ironman, which was well-received by music critics, in 1996. He has enjoyed continued success in the years that have followed, releasing critically acclaimed albums such as Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006). His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film The Mystery of Chess Boxing. He is the founder of his own record label, Starks Enterprises.
The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award. In May 2015, the Polaris Music Prize was increased to $50,000, an additional $20,000, sponsored by Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes for the nine other acts on the Short List increased from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed.
The 2008 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 30, 2008, at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. The prize was won by Caribou for his album Andorra.
The 2010 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 20, 2010. The gala presentation was held at Toronto's Masonic Temple, and was hosted by Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 and Sarah Taylor of MuchMusic.
BadBadNotGood is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they were joined by frequent collaborator Leland Whitty. Among other projects, the group has released five solo studio albums, with the latest, Talk Memory, released in October 2021. They have had critical and crossover success, finding audiences in the hip hop, jazz, and alternative music communities.
This is a summary of the year 2014 in the Canadian music industry.
Brill Bruisers is the sixth studio album by Canadian indie rock band the New Pornographers. It was released on August 26, 2014 and debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200. In describing the album, A.C. Newman called it "a celebration record... After periods of difficulty, I am at a place where nothing in my life is dragging me down and the music reflects that."
Alvvays is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and subsequently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin, Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O'Hanley (guitars), Abbey Blackwell (bass), and Sheridan Riley (drums). Their self-titled debut album, released in 2014, topped the US college charts. Their second studio album, Antisocialites, was released on September 8, 2017. Their third album, Blue Rev, was released on October 7, 2022.
Viet Cong is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Viet Cong. It was released on January 20, 2015, by Flemish Eye in Canada and Jagjaguwar internationally. Viet Cong is the only album released by the band under this name, as they changed their name to Preoccupations in 2016.
Sour Soul is a collaborative studio album from Canadian jazz instrumental hip hop band BadBadNotGood and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah. It was released worldwide on February 24, 2015.
This is a summary of the year 2015 in the Canadian music industry.
Tobias MacDonald Jesso Jr. is a Canadian musician from North Vancouver, British Columbia. His debut album Goon was released in 2015 on True Panther Sounds. He was included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 20 Biggest Breakouts of 2015. He won the first ever Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards for his work on releases by Harry Styles, Adele, FKA Twigs, Orville Peck, King Princess, Diplo and Omar Apollo.
Goon is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. released on March 17, 2015 in the United States and Canada. The album was preceded by the two singles "How Could You Babe" and "Hollywood".
Twelve Reasons to Die II is the twelfth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah. It is the sequel to his 2013 album Twelve Reasons to Die. The album was released on July 10, 2015, by Linear Labs. The album features guest appearances from Raekwon, RZA, Scarub, Vince Staples, Lyrics Born, Chino XL and Bilal.
Absolutely Free is a Canadian indie rock band formed by bassist Mike Claxton, guitarist Jordan Holmes, singer/multi-instrumentalist Matt King and drummer Moshe Rozenberg after the breakup of their prior band, DD/MM/YYYY.
The 2017 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 18, 2017.
The 2018 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 17, 2018. The gala was hosted by broadcaster Raina Douris.
The 2019 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 16, 2019. Haviah Mighty won the $50,000 dollar prize for her debut album 13th Floor, becoming the first Black woman and first hip hop artist to win the prize.
The 2020 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional winner's gala did not take place this year, and instead a special cinematic tribute to the shortlist was streamed online by CBC Music and CBC Gem, following which the winner was announced.
Matthew Adam Tavares, also known as Matty, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and music producer. He is best known as a founder of the instrumental group BADBADNOTGOOD, with whom he released five studio albums and produced with for other artists. Tavares released his first solo album in 2018 and has since released a series of solo and collaborative genre-spanning albums. As a songwriter, he has helped pen songs for the likes of Post Malone, Rosalía, Camilla Cabello, Kendrick Lamar, and Kali Uchis, and often works with producer Frank Dukes.