Forty artists from across Canada and across a wide range of musical genres have been nominated for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.
Among the musicians on the long list, released Tuesday, are three with Manitoba connections, two from Winnipeg and one originally from Brokenhead Ojibway Nation/Selkirk area.
The annual prize, which comes with a $50,000 award, is handed out to the artist behind the best Canadian album of the year, as judged on artistic merit by almost 200 music journalists, broadcasters, bloggers and programmers from across the country.
Acclaimed Winnipeg vocalist Alexa Dirks, also known as alt-pop solo artist Begonia, was nominated for her latest album, Powder Blue. She’s joined by JayWood (Jeremy Haywood-Smith), whose Slingshot LP got the Polaris nod.
Lastly, Hamilton, Ont. shoegaze artist Zoon (Zoongide’ewin) — who originally hails from Selkirk, Man., via Brokenhead Ojibway Nation — is back on the Polaris long list for the album Bekka Ma’iingan.
Zoon was also nominated in 2021 for the critically-acclaimed debut album Bleached Wavves.
The long list of 40 albums will be shortened to a top 10 in mid-July, and the eventual winner (one of the 10 on the shortlist) will be announced at the Polaris Gala in September.