Two Manitoba bands have made it on the prestigious Polaris Music Prize long list of Canadian albums.
Weakerthans’ solo front man John K. Samson for Provincial and Cannon Bros.’s Firecracker/Cloudglow had their albums selected by the 200-member jury, which includes national music journalists, broadcasters, and bloggers — along with 38 other names including Feist, Drake, and Leonard Cohen.
The announcement was made Thursday as heard live on SiriusXM Canada and CBC Radio 3 from The Waldorf in Vancouver.
Fellow Manitoba band Imaginary Cities landed on the Polaris long list last year, while Disintegration Records label mate Greg MacPherson and Christine Fellows and The Weakerthans were long listed in 2009, with the band’s reunion tour making it to the short list.
The Polaris Music Prize awards $30,000 to the best full-length Canadian album. The jury makes its selection entirely on artistic merit and not sales figures. Past winners include Arcade Fire, Final Fantasy, Patrick Watson, and Karkwa.
— With files from Manitoba Music
