Ten Canadian musicians and bands will compete for the Polaris Music Prize tonight.
The $50,000 award for the year鈥檚 best Canadian album will be handed out during a concert event held at Toronto鈥檚 Massey Hall.
Among the contenders is Calgary-raised pop singer-songwriter Leslie Feist, Toronto R&B singer Daniel Caesar and Oji-Cree alternative soul artist Aysanabee.
Other nominees include Haitian-Canadian artist Gayance, Winnipeg鈥檚 Begonia and Nigerian-Canadian Debby Friday.
Rounding out the list is British Columbia native Dan Mangan, Toronto rock band the Sadies, B.C. hip hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Prince Edward Island indie pop band Alvvays.
The Polaris prize names the best Canadian album of the previous year 鈥� irrespective of genre or sales 鈥� as chosen by a group of journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers.
Last year, the Polaris went to Congolese-Canadian Pierre Kwenders for his third album 鈥淛ose Louis and the Paradox Of Love.鈥�
This year鈥檚 Polaris nominees are eclectic, as always, spanning sounds and artists that lean toward both the mainstream and the underground.
Feist鈥檚 鈥淢ultitudes鈥� is an answer to her experience of motherhood, written early in the COVID-19 pandemic, while Caesar built on his chart-topping appearance on Justin Bieber鈥檚 鈥淧eaches鈥� with his third album 鈥淣ever Enough,鈥� featuring collaborations with Toronto鈥檚 Mustafa, Ty Dolla $ign and others.
Aysanabee鈥檚 debut 鈥淲atin,鈥� named after his grandfather, was inspired by daily phone conversations with his elder during the pandemic. Some of the recordings are featured on the album.
Nigerian-Canadian genre-bender Debby Friday incorporated her past industrial sound with a more soulful touch on her debut full-length record 鈥淕ood Luck,鈥� while Haitian-Canadian artist Gayance landed on the list for her electronic-influenced album 鈥淢ascarade.鈥�
Hip hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids earned their fourth Polaris nomination with 鈥淚鈥檓 Good, HBU?鈥� while Winnipeg鈥檚 Begonia was selected for her second album 鈥淧owder Blue.鈥�
Rounding out the list is Mangan鈥檚 鈥淏eing Somewhere,鈥� Toronto-based rock band the Sadies鈥� 鈥淐older Streams鈥� and Prince Edward Island indie pop band Alvvays鈥� latest 鈥淏lue Rev.鈥�
Several changes are being introduced at this year鈥檚 Polaris.
The show used to broadcast live on CBC Gem from the CARLU event space in Toronto, which held up to 1,500 people. But organizers have upgraded to the larger Massey venue which allows them to sell more tickets.
Other changes have taken some of the shine off the event. The Polaris will no longer give $3,000 cash prizes to each of the short-listed artists.
And organizers say this year鈥檚 Polaris will not stream live in its entirety on CBC Gem, as it has in recent years.
However, clips of the show will be uploaded to CBC鈥檚 social media sites throughout the night. A compilation of highlights will be broadcast on 鈥淐BC Music Live鈥� which airs Friday on the FM station CBC Music.
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