Polaris Music Prize Reveals The 10 Album Short List, Announces Performers For Concert & Award Ceremony At Massey Hall September 22

CBC presents the 2026 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 2026 Polaris Music Prize Album Short List is:

Angine de Poitrine – Vol. II
Aquakultre – 1783 – Performing
Begonia – Fantasy Life – Performing
Bibi Club – Amaro – Performing
Charlotte Cornfield – Hurts Like Hell – Performing
Beverly Glenn-Copeland – Laughter In Summer – Performing
Rochelle Jordan – Through The Wall
Les Louanges – Alouette! – Performing
Peaches – No Lube So Rude – Interpretation of Peaches’ No Lube So Rude from Slash Need
Tanya Tagaq – Saputjiji – Performing

This is the first Album Short List nomination for Angine De Poitrine, Aquakultre, Charlotte Cornfield, Rochelle Jordan, Peaches and Beverly Glenn-Copeland, though the latter two have received Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize designations for past albums The Teaches Of Peaches and Keyboard Fantasies, respectively. Begonia (2023), Bibi Club (2025) and Les Lounages (2019) have made the Album Short List on one previous occasion, while Tanya Tagaq won the Polaris Prize in 2014 for the album Animism and also made the Short List in 2017 as well.

The Polaris Music Prize awards $30,000 courtesy of the Slaight Family Foundation to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales. The 2026 Album Prize winner will be determined through a vote by the full Polaris jury after a series of Grand Jury presentations and debate sessions.

The winning album, along with the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize and Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize winners, will be revealed during the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony, powered by FACTOR, taking place at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Tuesday, September 22.

Polaris has confirmed the following acts will take the stage at this year’s marquee winner reveal event (subject to change): Aquakultre, Begonia, Bibi Club, Charlotte Cornfield, Beverly Glenn-Copeland & Elizabeth Copeland, Les Louanges, Tanya Tagaq and an interpretation of Peaches’ No Lube So Rude from Slash Need. Polaris is also very excited to announce that Odario Williams (CBC Music’s Afterdark) will be the evening’s host. More announcements are coming soon so be sure to sign up for the Polaris newsletter to be the first to know.

This will be the fourth straight year that Polaris will take over the iconic 132-year-old Massey Hall, Canada’s marquee live venue. Tickets to the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony are on sale now via the Massey Hall website. To celebrate the Short List, Polaris is offering 15% off tickets with the code POLARIS15.

The album Short List was unveiled during the Polaris Short List Special, a two-hour national radio event hosted by Odario Williams which explored each of the albums nominated for the grand prize with commentary from Polaris jurors and CBC Music experts.

With the reveal of the 10 nominated albums, CBC Music is kicking off Short List Summer: its signature deep dive into the nominated records and the artists who made them. Short List Summer will be anchored by CBC Music’s THE TEN, a series of one-hour weekly radio specials hosted by Odario Williams, broadcasting each Sunday on CBC Music and CBC Listen at 6 p.m. (6:30 NT) starting Sunday, July 19, running until Sunday, September 13. Each one-of-a-kind episode of THE TEN will feature a discussion about the short-listed album with music writers and Polaris jurors from across the country, along with a deep album listening session.

CBC Music will also kick into high gear with Polaris Album Short List coverage on cbcmusic.ca/polaris, diving into the 10 nominated albums on July 9. Follow CBC Music on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok for all your Polaris Music Prize content.

THE TEN Broadcast Schedule:

Each special broadcasts at 6 p.m. local time (6:30 NT) on CBC Music and CBC Listen

Sunday, July 19 – The Ten: Begonia
Sunday, July 26 – The Ten: Tanya Tagaq
Sunday, August 2 – The Ten: Les Louanges
Sunday, August 9 – The Ten: Rochelle Jordan
Sunday, August 16 – The Ten: Angine de Poitrine
Sunday, August 23 – The Ten: Beverly Glenn-Copeland & Elizabeth Copeland
Sunday, August 30 – The Ten: Charlotte Cornfield
Sunday, September 6 – The Ten: Peaches
Sunday, September 13 – The Ten: Bibi Club
Sunday, September 20 – The Ten: Aquakultre

“The Polaris Music Prize celebrates the best in Canadian storytelling through music and the Short List this year once again represents the depth of boundary-pushing talent shaping our Canadian cultural landscape,” said Meg Symsyk, President & CEO of FACTOR – The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings. “The Polaris jury-selected albums are all a testament to Canada’s impact in the studio, over the airwaves, on stages across our country and around the world. All of us at FACTOR are looking forward to this event at Massey Hall on September 22nd!”

As we continue to celebrate our finalist throughout the summer, the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize will move forward with its five nominee Song Prize Short List announcement on July 29. The second-ever Song Prize winner will receive $10,000 courtesy of SOCAN. Additionally, the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, the organization’s hall of fame for Canadian albums of distinction from the past, will launch its hybrid critics prize/public vote campaign on August 5. The organization will also be bringing back the Polaris Festival throughout the month of September. A curated series of low-cost concerts, salons and workshops, the Festival will feature unique one-off events with past Polaris nominees.

Key dates in the 2026 Polaris season include:

• Thursday, June 11 – 40 Album Long List announced at NXNE
• Wednesday, June 24 – 20 Song Long List announced
• Thursday, July 9 – 10 Album Short List announced
• Wednesday, July 29 – 5 Song Short List announced
• Wednesday, August 5 – Heritage Prize nominees announced; public voting opens
• Friday, August 21 – Heritage Prize public voting closes
• Tuesday, September 22 – Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony at Massey Hall
• Throughout September – Polaris Festival (programming to be announced)

POLARIS ALBUM PRIZE WINNERS 

The past winners are Yves Jarvis (2025), Jeremy Dutcher (2024), Debby Friday (2023), Pierre Kwenders (2022), Cadence Weapon (2021), Backxwash (2020), Haviah Mighty (2019), Jeremy Dutcher (2018), Lido Pimienta (2017), Kaytranada (2016), Tanya Tagaq (2014), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007) and Final Fantasy / Owen Pallett (2006).

CBC presents the 2026 Polaris Music Prize. This year’s Concert & Award Ceremony is powered by FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. It is supported by SiriusXM Canada, Ontario Creates, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, and the Slaight Family Foundation.

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