advertisement
Awards

Jeremy Dutcher Wins the 2024 Polaris Music Prize for 'Motewolonuwok'

The winner was revealed tonight (September 17) at the gala at Massey Hall in Toronto, with Dutcher becoming the first two-time winner of the prize.

Jeremy Dutcher

Jeremy Dutcher

Courtesy Photo

Jeremy Dutcher has won the 2024 Polaris Music Prize for Motewolonuwok, making history as the first two-time winner of the prize.

Dutcher will take home the $50,000 prize, which goes to the best Canadian album of the year, as determined by a jury of experts and based solely on artistic merit. He first won the prize in 2018, for Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa.


"I just wanna say I love you all, I can only do this cause you're here to listen, and that means so much to me," Dutcher said, receiving the award. "To bring forward art and music in this land, in our languages, with our aesthetics," he continued, "all I have to say is we're here shining for you — now go shine for other people."

advertisement

Dutcher was competing in a tough field, against nine other shortlisted albums: Cindy Lee's Diamond Jubilee, NOBRO's Set Your Pussy Free, TOBi's Panic, DijahSB's The Flower That Knew, Allison Russell's The Returner, Bambii's Infinity Club, Elisapie's Inuktitut, The Beaches' Blame My Ex and Charlotte Cardin's 99 Nights.

The prize was awarded at the Polaris Gala, held at Massey Hall in Toronto and hosted by 2023 winner Debby Friday.

Other previous winners include Pierre Kwenders (2022), Cadence Weapon (2021), Backxwash (2020), Haviah Mighty (2019), Lido Pimienta (2017), and Kaytranada (2016).

Stay tuned for more coverage from the Polaris Gala.

advertisement
Dave Ball
Courtesy Photo

Dave Ball

FYI

Obituaries: Synth-Pop Hitmaker Dave Ball of Soft Cell, Pioneering Bass Virtuoso Anthony Jackson

This week we also acknowledge the passing of American guitar maker Ken Parker.

Dave (David James) Ball, one half of the hitmaking Anglo synth-pop duo Soft Cell, died on Oct. 22, at age 66. A cause of death has not been announced.

The group’s singer, Marc Almond, called Ball a “wonderfully brilliant musical genius” in a lengthy tribute in which he praised his musical partner of 46 years. “He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago. It’s so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work,” Almond wrote, adding that Ball’s recent compositions were “better than ever.”

keep readingShow less
advertisement