Polaris debuted its first month-long September Polaris Festival presented by SiriusXM Canada, featuring 20 events across Toronto, Hamilton, and Belleville, such as Concerts, Salons, Listening Parties, and Poster Exhibits, all culminating in the annual Concert & Award Ceremony. Our goal was to spotlight as many previous Polaris nominnes as possible while reaching new audiences through expanded programming and diverse collaborations.The sparkles have settled, the results are in, and we couldn’t be more happy to the outcome:
CBC presents the 2025 Polaris Music Prize. The Polaris Festival is presented by SiriusXM Canada. This project is funded in part 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.
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).
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.
Free Listening Session w/ Registration | Sep 13, 4-7PM | Sounds Good |||| Join Polaris Music Prize nominees The Dears at Sounds Good in Toronto for an all-vinyl listening session and live performance. This special event offers a deep dive into the band’s cinematic catalogue, featuring rare cuts, fan favourites, and exclusive premieres of unreleased music. The Dears will be on hand to share stories, insights, and an intimate live set.
Free Listening Session w/ Registration | Sep 15, 9-11PM | Plethora Vintage at 146 Augusta Ave in Kensington Market. | 19+ |||| Genre-defying powerhouse Myst Milano spins a curated set of their signature energy-fueled cuts: punk, ballroom, rap and beyond. Uncompromising and community-rooted in a DIY space.
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.
Free Salon w/ Registration | Sep 17, 6-9PM | 7 Hart House Circle, Map Room |||| Join us for an intimate evening of conversation, creativity, and community as the Polaris Music Prize and Hart House proudly co-present “Hart House Producers’ Circle” featuring one of Toronto’s most innovative voices in Hip-Hop, Clairmont The Second. Known for his self-produced, genre-defying sound and deeply introspective lyrics, Clairmont The Second brings a bold, authentic voice to Canada’s music scene.
$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.
