Faith Healer Covers The Band’s “When You Awake” For SiriusXM Polaris Cover Sessions
The Polaris Music Prize has released its second SiriusXM Polaris Cover Session for 2019 featuring Faith Healer covering “When You Awake” from The Band’s self-titled Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize-winning album.
An in-studio performance video of the song is now available via the Polaris YouTube channel. Additionally, an audio stream of it can be found on the Polaris Soundcloud channel.
Faith Healer’s version of “When You Awake” was produced by the band at Montreal’s Value Sound in April. Recording with a full band live off the floor in the studio was a new experience for Faith Healer.
“This is actually the first recording we’ve ever done with the band,” said drummer/multi-instrumentalist Renny Wilson.
“Yeah, we’ve never done it in this arrangement,” added lead singer Jessica Jalbert.
“We never make live recordings, so this is the first, basically,” said Wilson.
The Faith Healer cover is the second of three such sessions planned for 2019 that feature past Polaris nominees interpreting songs from albums that have received Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize designation. The Band’s self-titled album received its Heritage Prize designation in 2017. Faith Healer made the Long List in 2018 for the album Try 😉.
Faith Healer’s track, a forthcoming Partner interpretation and Pierre Kwenders’ already-released cover of Jean-Pierre Ferland’s “It Ain’t Fair” will be pressed on to a limited edition vinyl record that will be given out free with purchase at participating retail stores starting in late-summer. The record will also be given to Polaris Gala attendees.
This is the 14th cover song commissioned by Polaris. Other acts who’ve contributed to the series include Kwenders, Jean-Michel Blais, Lindi Ortega, Weaves, Little Scream, Hannah Georgas, Les soeurs Boulay, Joel Plaskett, Zaki Ibrahim, Whitehorse, Sarah Harmer, Great Lake Swimmers and Arkells. All these performances are available on the Polaris YouTube and Soundcloud channels.
