Julie Elaine Doiron is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, beginning with 1996's Broken Girl, and is also the lead singer for the band Julie and the Wrong Guys.
Kathryn Jane Calder is a Canadian indie rock musician, who performs as a solo artist, and is a member of the bands The New Pornographers and Frontperson. She is a former member of Immaculate Machine. Calder started with The New Pornographers by filling in for Neko Case for live performances and was made a permanent member in 2006.
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.
Shadrach Kabango, better known as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. He has released 7 full-length albums and 3 EP's since his debut in 2005. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and 5 of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist since the prize's creation in 2006. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016 and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
Max Turnbull, better known by his stage name Slim Twig, is a Canadian songwriter, musician, and film actor, who has performed both as a solo artist and as the leader of Badge Époque Ensemble.
Hannah Georgas is a Canadian pop/rock singer-songwriter, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was nominated in the categories of "Best New Artist of the Year" and "Songwriter of the Year" at the 2011 Juno Awards, and again at the 2013 Juno Awards for "Songwriter of the Year" and "Best Alternative Album".
Blood Ceremony is a Canadian rock band formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario. Blood Ceremony's style has been described as "flute-tinged witch rock" and their lyrics are filled with black magic imagery and references to classic horror films. Their music has been also characterized as hard rock, psychedelic folk, progressive rock, and doom metal.
Whitehorse is a Canadian folk rock band, composed of husband-and-wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Doucet and McClelland were both established singer-songwriters before opting to put their solo careers on hold to work together as Whitehorse.
The 2015 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2015 at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario. The event was hosted by children's entertainer Fred Penner.
U.S. Girls is a Toronto-based experimental pop project formed in 2007, consisting solely of American musician and record producer Meghan Remy. She had released music on a variety of independent record labels before signing to 4AD in 2015.
Jessica Reyez is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Her 2016 single "Figures" peaked at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 in 2017 and was certified triple Platinum by Music Canada and Platinum by the RIAA. Her 2017 EP, Kiddo, led to four nominations at the 2018 Juno Awards, winning Breakthrough Artist. Her follow up EP, Being Human in Public, was released in 2018. It won R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the 2019 Juno Awards and was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Reyez again won the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, for "Feel it Too" with Tory Lanez and Tainy, at the 2020 Juno Awards, where she was also nominated for Artist of the Year. Reyez has written songs for Calvin Harris, Kehlani, Dua Lipa, and Normani, most notably penning the hit "One Kiss", and has collaborated with Eminem on multiple occasions. Her debut album, Before Love Came to Kill Us, was released on March 27, 2020, to widespread critical acclaim, and saw commercial success, entering at number thirteen on the US Billboard 200.
Terra Lightfoot is a Canadian musician and singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario who has released four albums with the independent music label Sonic Unyon Recording Company and is distributed by Universal Music Group in Canada and The Orchard outside of Canada. She performs in a folk and roots rock style known for bold vocals and electric guitar riffs.
The 2018 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 17, 2018. The gala was hosted by broadcaster Raina Douris.
The following musical events and releases happened in 2019 in Canada.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019 and won the Polaris Music Prize. After her debut, XXL named her one of the "15 Toronto rappers you should know" and CBC Music called her one of the "New Faces of Canadian Hip Hop".
The following musical events and releases that happened in 2020 in Canada.
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.
Badge Époque Ensemble is a Canadian musical project led by Max Turnbull. They are most noted for their self-titled debut album, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
Dorothea Paas is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Her debut album Anything Can't Happen was a longlisted nominee for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
The 2023 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 19, 2023. The winner was electronic musician Debby Friday for her album Good Luck.
