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FYI

Tanika Charles Named First NMC Polaris Artist Resident

R&B singer and Polaris long-lister Tanika Charles is named the inaugural recipient of Lixar and the National Music Centre present the Polaris Artist Residency that comes with a five-day residency at Studio Bell in Calgary.

Tanika Charles Named First NMC Polaris Artist Resident

By Nick Krewen

Edmonton native and Toronto-based R&B singer and songwriter Tanika Charles is the winner of the newly established Lixar and the National Music Centre present the Polaris Artist Residency.


Charles was announced as the winner at Tuesday night's Polaris Music Prize ceremony at the Carlu in Toronto, and wins a five-day residency at the National Music Centre's Studio Bell in Calgary, with travel expenses covered by Lixar. The resulting recording will be pressed to vinyl, courtesy of Lixar.

The contest was open to all 2019 Polaris Long Listers, with Charles' album The Gumption getting the nod for this expansion of the NMC's Artist in Residence program.

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The prize also includes a performance and a party by Charles, scheduled for January 2020 with further details to be announced.

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David Wiffen
Courtesy Photo

David Wiffen

FYI

Obituaries: Peers Pay Tribute to Canadian Folk Great David Wiffen

This week we also acknowledge the passing of controversial hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, U.S. guitar ace Wayne Perkins and Hamilton musician and author Douglas Carter.

David George Wiffen, an Ottawa-based folk singer-songwriter revered by his peers and best known for his classic tune "Driving Wheel," died on April 5, at age 84.

A Globe and Mail obituary reports that "Wiffen was born in 1942, in Redhill, Surrey, a market town south of London. He first arrived in Canada as a 16-year-old with his family when his father, an engineer, was transferred to Toronto. Wiffen returned to England but eventually doubled back to Canada to stay."

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