Free Listening Session w/ Registration | Sep 15, 9-11PM | Loveless Cafe |||| Shad (Shadrach Kabango), a JUNO-winning rapper and five-time Polaris Music Prize short-lister, hosts a special listening session at Loveless Cafe. A function for all the Quixotic music makers/lovers/haters/true believers, Shad will be selecting a mix of smashes and rarities, with special attention paid to the greats from coast-to-coast-to-coast. A little chatter on the mic too.
$40 Concert | Sep 16 8:00PM | Massey Hall |||| The Polaris Festival culminates in the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony presented by CBC and Powered by FACTOR on September 16, 2025, at the legendary Massey Hall. This unmissable evening celebrates the art of Canadian music with live performances by the 2025 Polaris Album Short List: Bibi Club, Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Marie Davidson, Nemahsis, Population II, Ribbon Skirt, Saya Gray, The OBGMs, Yves Jarvis, and more,
$15 Concert & Party | Sep 16, 10-1AM | Church of the Holy Trinity | 19+| Accessible Venue |||| Join us after the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony at the official afterparty to celebrate all 2025 winners and nominees with a performance by TEKE::TEKE, and a DJ set by Phillippe. For the first time ever, Polaris will be transforming the Church of the Holy Trinity, a short four-minute walk from Massey Hall. The space is known for serving the community in the day, and Toronto’s nightlife in the evening.
$15 Listening Session | Sep 22, 7:30PM | The Vault Creation Lab |||| Join Toronto rock force SATE for an intimate listening session at The Vault Creation Lab, offering a rare glimpse into the early stages of her newest project — a fierce and vulnerable rock opera exploring the mother-daughter thread and the mother wound. Through music, words, and soulful reflection, she shares the sparks and shadows that shape her work.
$40 (tax and fees included)Concert | Sep 26, 7:30-11:30PM | Royal Ontario Museum |||| Polaris‑winning Cadence Weapon and shortlisted nominee Junia‑T take over the decks at the ROM After Dark for a high-energy DJ party. Join them and party around dinosaur bones that are 145–200 million years old in ROM’s Connelly Hall. A rare mash‑up of club vibes and ancient atmosphere.
$45 Concert | Sep 24, 7:00PM | Lee’s Palace |||| Join us on September 24th at Lee’s Palace in Toronto for the Second Summer Launch Party. Polaris Music Prize has partnered with Second Summer to present Polaris nominee JayWood for the Second Summer lineup.
Voting for the 2025 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize has opened and the nominees are in. The companion award to the Polaris Music Prize, winners and nominees for the Heritage Prize are also Canadian albums of artistic distinction, without regard to sales, genre or affiliation. This is our version of a hall of fame where […]
CBC presents the 2025 Polaris Music Prize has revealed the five-nominee Short List for its first-ever SOCAN Polaris Song Prize. Polaris, celebrating its 20th anniversary, and SOCAN, celebrating its 100th anniversary, recently announced the new Song Prize where the winning song takes home $10,000 split between the song’s Canadian performers and the song’s credited Canadian […]
CBC presents the 2025 Polaris Music Prize has revealed its 10 nominee album Short List. The album Short List, powered by FACTOR, is where Polaris reveals the finalist records that will be considered for a given year’s Prize. The 2025 Polaris Music Prize Album Short List is: Bibi Club – Feu de garde Lou-Adriane Cassidy […]
Above: Lido Pimienta by Ada Navarro Sun Noor, Polaris Music Prize Juror Lido Pimienta is a Colombian-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist who builds worlds through her artistry. She took home the Polaris Music Prize in 2017 for her captivating debut album, La Papessa. Polaris caught up with the Toronto-based musician and visual artist to discuss her new […]
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