Last night Jeremy Dutcher won the 19th annual Polaris Music Prize for his second album, Motewolonuwok. He also won the prize in 2018, for his debut album. He is now the first person to have won the prize twice.
Watch his speech! I’d give him $50,000 for that alone.
I did not think his win was possible. In fact, earlier this week I suggested that his chances of winning were “non-existent,” primarily because he was a previous winner. Proof that Polaris is always surprising, even when it makes a “safe” choice. And proof, once again, that I am not to be trusted.
Dutcher’s win does speak to the fact that external factors are not to play a part in jury deliberations: not the artist’s popularity, their bank account, where they’re from, who they are, or where the considered album fits into their body of work or career narrative. Or how often they’ve shortlisted, or whether they’ve won.
Every juror will, of course, bring their own biases. But during deliberations among the 11 grand jury members who decide the winner (as opposed to the 200+ jurors who vote on the long list and shortlist), the foreperson is quick to steer conversation away from anything but the music. Hats off to Melissa Vincent, who played that role in recent years and is now moving on.
Repeat winners of any award are not common—unless you’re Taylor Swift, the only person to have won the Grammy for Album of the Year a whopping four times. (Three artists have won that Grammy three times; four artists, including two Beatles, have won it twice.) PJ Harvey is the only person to have won the U.K.’s Mercury Prize twice (in 2001 and 2011). Only three authors have won the Giller Prize twice, Esi Edugyan being the most recent.
My 2022 interview with Dutcher is here.
In the event that anyone in the room had not heard Motewolonuwok, Dutcher’s performance last night, featuring beautiful choral arrangements, was more than convincing. Watch for that video on CBC Music soon, probably later today.
This was a feel-good win all around.
And yet: the same would have been said of any of the shortlisters. No one was phoning in—even when they were literally phoning it in, as Allison Russell did with a powerful pre-recorded intro recorded on her phone, backstage in L.A. where she was opening for Hozier. She prefaced a stunning ballet performance she sent in her stead, set to her song “Eve Was Black” and performed in the middle of the audience.
The potentially retired (and odds-on fave to win) Cindy Lee sent a premiere of a new video for “If You See Me Crying” (yet to surface on YouTube as of this morning). The unfortunately ill Charlotte Cardin sent a video of a previous live performance, leaving her hired string section for the night to play inaudibly on stage in front of a large screeen featuring… other string players.
No matter. The show ran almost seamlessly, thanks to the Sonic Unyon stage crew, fresh off running Supercrawl.
Last year’s winner Debby Friday was a fine host — thankfully devoid of bad jokes or CBC boosterism. She looked amazing, and was delightfully earnest—just like all the musicians and nerds there.
The performances were all excellent: those will surface online at CBC Music soon enough. Elisapie was mesmerizing. Bambii brought dancers into her spotlight on-stage during her brief DJ set. DijahSB brought a live band and some extremely colourful self-branding.
Jordan Miller of the Beaches let teenage band the Thunder Queens shine on two of her band’s biggest hits, sharing lead vocals with 14-year-old drummer Lola Hayman. “Given the luck and success my band has had this year, I think it’s really important to pay it forward,” Miller told the Canadian Press. “This award represents giving people who don’t always get the mainstream attention they deserve a moment to shine. So, I thought it was a great opportunity for us to showcase another group we’re really excited about.” Excellent article about this, by David Friend, is here.
The only awkward note was when Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow introduced Miller and the Thunder Queens—and what would have been a great 60-second speech about the value of art turned into an uncomfortably long three-minute stump speech (we’re two years away from the next municipal election). I didn’t disagree with anything she was saying, but read the room! Could’ve been worse—perhaps you heard about the time previous Polaris winner Cadence Weapon brought out Chow’s challenger Josh Matlow on stage at a Hot Chip show during the last election.
NoBro came roaring out of the gate from their first note—it’s a matter of time before they’re filling Massey Hall on their own, even if they’re best suited to a small, sweaty club. Anyone who’d never seen them before were quickly checking future tour dates. (They play Frank Turner’s festival in Toronto this weekend.)
Tobi proved what a born star he is: as a rapper, a performer, and especially as a singer—the only sad thing about it all is that anyone in the room was surprised (and there were more than a few, so read into that what you will).
Dutcher closed his gracious speech by saying, “We’re here shining for you. Now go shine for other people.”
Shine on.