Haviah Mighty reflects on the ripple effect of winning Polaris in 2019 — from redefining what’s possible as the first Black woman to take the Prize, to navigating music in the public eye. In this conversation with juror DJ MelBoogie, she opens up about growth, legacy, and the walls she’s tearing down in the studio right now.
Polaris Music Prize is seeking a maximum of three (3) individuals for its Board of Directors to help lead the organization. The Director role is an unpaid, volunteer position and requires an average of 2-5 hours commitment bi-monthly. Deadline for applications is November 20, 2025. Individuals will be elected at Polaris Music Prize’s Annual General Meeting in […]
Free No Registration Required | Sept 27 & 28, Oct 4 & 5, 2025 | Toronto | Toronto Music Garden | All Ages |||| Harbourfront and Polaris bring you free concerts featuring Polaris alumni, Land of Talk (Sept 27), Begonia (Sept 28), Charlotte Cornfield (Oct 4), and Tanika Charles (Oct 5).
Twenty years ago, Polaris set out to champion music as art — to celebrate Canadian albums based on merit, not metrics. Two decades, 700+ honoured artists, and over $1.4 million in prizes and artist fees later, we’re still here, still listening, and still believing in the power of music to move a culture forward. To […]
Free Poster Exhibition | Sep 2-10, 7-2AM | Cry Baby Gallery |||| The Polaris Poster exhibition returns to Cry Baby Gallery, showcasing a bold retrospective of Polaris Music Prize history. Featuring posters from each year of the Prize, the exhibition is a visual tribute to Canada’s most creative albums—part music history, part art show, and completely one-of-a-kind.
Sep 7, 1-3PM | Responsive Ecologies Lab (RELab) at TMU |||| Patchwork is a hands-on workshop series organized by Katie Stelmanis (Austra – Polaris nominee) that aims to create an unintimidating space for learning about modular synthesis. While synth communities are often dominated by white cis-masculine norms, Patchwork expands the possibilities of who can participate in this form of music-making by centering women, 2SLGBTQ+ and/or racialized people who may or may not have any experience with noise-making electronics.
Sep 8, 6-8PM Salon | Daniels Spectrum |||| Co-presented by Polaris Music Prize and the Music Managers Forum Canada (MMFCanada), De-Mystifying Polaris is a Polaris Salon and panel discussion that uncovers the mysteries of Polaris, including topics like the new Polaris Song Prize, an exciting new initiative being announced at the 2025 Concert & Award Ceremony at Massey Hall, how Polaris jurors and grand jurors make their selections, and most importantly, how to get your art or artist in front of Polaris Jurors.
$19.99 Concert | Sep 12, 8-10:30PM | Mills Hardware, Hamilton |||| Polaris has partnered with Supercrawl to produce a concert during the Festival featuring Polaris 2025 Long Listed artist Sister Ray and Eliza Niemi at Mills Hardware in Hamilton.
$22-$44 Salon & Rave | Sep 13, 10-3AM, Polaris Activation 12-2AM | Sound Machine |||| Night Mirror: A Psychic Salon is an intimate, late-night activation that will be featured live inside Lotion Magazine’s highly anticipated rave event. Running from 12AM–2AM, this unique collaboration invites attendees to pause, reflect, and set an intention before fully immersing themselves back into the energy of the dance floor.
Free Concert | Sep 13, 4:30-6:45PM | Downtown Belleville |||| Polaris nominee Hannah Georgas curates the first-ever Beautiful View, a new music festival set against the scenic backdrop of Belleville, Ontario. The inaugural lineup features intimate performances part of the Polaris Festival by fellow alumni Cedric Noel and Justin Rutledge.
