The 2013 Polaris Music Prize Long List was announced today at the Phi Centre in Old Montreal. The event was hosted by SiriusXM’s Andréanne Sasseville. 2006 Polaris Music Prize winner Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy), 2009 Short Listers Radio Radio, Laurel Spengelmeyer of 2011 Long Listers Little Scream and Ruby Attwood from Yamantaka // Sonic Titan were also on hand to reveal the list of forty albums. The celebration also included a live performance by Les soeurs Boulay, one of this year’s first-time nominees.

“This year’s Long List is all over the map, but in the best possible way,” said Steve Jordan, Founder and Executive Director. “A lot of our jury expressed that this was the most difficult Polaris ballot they’ve ever submitted. The results of this careful and passionate deliberation will make for some truly engaging listening for music lovers.”

2013 Polaris Music Prize Long List:

A Tribe Called Red – Nation II Nation
Alaclair Ensemble – Les maigres blancs d’Amérique du Noir
ANCIIENTS – Heart of Oak
The Besnard Lakes – Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO
Louis-Jean Cormier – Le Treizième Étage
Daphni – JIAOLONG
Mac DeMarco – 2
Evening Hymns – Spectral Dusk
Hannah Georgas – Hannah Georgas
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
Chilly Gonzales – Solo Piano II
Jim Guthrie – Takes Time
Hayden – Us Alone
Zaki Ibrahim – Every Opposite
KEN mode – Entrench
Kid Koala – 12 bit Blues
Kobo Town – Jumbie in the Jukebox
Pierre Lapointe – Punkt
Lee Harvey Osmond – The Folk Sinner
Les soeurs Boulay – Le poids des confettis
Corb Lund – Cabin Fever
The Luyas – Animator
Majical Cloudz – Impersonator
Metric – Synthetica
METZ – METZ
Danny Michel with the Garifuna Collective – Black Birds Are Dancing Over Me
AC Newman – Shut Down The Streets
Old Man Luedecke – Tender is The Night
Lindi Ortega – Cigarettes & Truckstops
Peter Peter – Une version améliorée de la tristesse
Purity Ring – Shrines
Rah Rah – The Poet’s Dead
Rhye – Woman
Daniel Romano – Come Cry With Me
Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light
Suuns – Images du futur
Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob
Al Tuck – Stranger at the Wake
Whitehorse – The Fate of the World Depends On This Kiss
Young Galaxy – Ultramarine

At the conclusion of the announcement, the Phi Centre is hosting a very special lunch-time Polaris Salon. Moderated by Steve Jordan, the panel includes Sasseville, TFO’s Melissa Hetu and La Presse’s Alain Brunet. The discussion will centre on the just announced Long List, with the panelists opinions of hits and misses on this year’s List as well as predictions of which titles will move on to the Short List.

There is also a salon in Toronto on Wednesday, June 19th at the Soho House moderated by Exclaim’s James Keast. Panelists include Stephen Carlick of Exclaim, Nicole Villeneuve of Aux, freelancer Melody Lau and Bryan Acker of Herohill. To attend send an RSVP to rsvp@polarismusicprize.ca.

The Short List will be announced on July 16th at The Drake Hotel in Toronto. The Polaris gala will be held on September 23rd at The Carlu in Toronto. The eligibility period for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013. An independent jury of over 200 music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada determine the Long List and Short List. Eleven people are selected from the larger jury pool to serve on the Grand Jury. The grand jury convenes the night of the gala to select the Polaris Music Prize winner.

The Polaris Music Prize awards $30,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. Judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales, the prize’s past winners have included Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007), and Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) (2006).

About the Polaris Music Prize
The Polaris Music Prize is a not-for-profit organization that annually honours, celebrates and rewards creativity and diversity in Canadian recorded music by recognizing, then marketing the albums of the highest artistic integrity, without regard to musical genre, professional affiliation, or sales history, as judged by a panel of selected music critics. www.polarismusicprize.ca/ @polarisprize

Don’t miss the last video in the list ‘Time To Switch To Whiskey,’ Corb and the band pay tribute to those we have lost recently with Stompin’ Tom Connors ‘The Hockey Song.’

September 04, 2013 – Whitehorse, YT
Yukon Arts Centre – TICKETS

September 12, 2013 – Prince Albert, SK
EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts – TICKETS

A legendary Canadian folk music icon and one of the most prominent talents of the current generation of singer-songwriters combine forces for an unforgettable evening celebrating Western Canada in stories and song.

Ian Tyson

Internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi award winner, Ian Tyson, celebrated 5 decades of performance in 2012 with a full schedule of concerts and the release of a new book published by Random House of Canada. Tyson keeps his loyal fans in awe with songs that range from his classics – “Four Strong Winds,” “Someday Soon” and “Navajo Rug” to his newest works which he continues to write with inspired vigor. Throughout 2008, Tyson shot a TV Music/Documentary Special for Canada’s Bravo Chanel which aired in January 2010 and on CBC TV in 2011. At age 78, Tyson maintains a busy touring performance schedule which he combines with the work on his Alberta ranch, which is nestled in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary. It’s a workload that would exceed that of most people generations his junior.

With the recent North American release of “Yellowhead to Yellowstone and other Love Stories”, and the more recent release of “4 New Songs” Ian Tyson continues his musical legacy.

As a true musical historian of the old west and a seasoned horseman, Ian Tyson treats his fans to an intimate evening of music and narrative portraits that begin with his story of the first horse to land on American soil and culminate with 50 years and more of his own life experiences.

Corb Lund

Goth girls to survivalists, bovines to bibles, antique pistols to vintage motorcycles: Alberta-born honky-tonker Corb Lund’s songcraft covers it all. From a rustic retreat deep in the Rocky Mountain forest, Cabin Fever, Lund’s enthralling new album, evolved from a period of introspection and hard traveling. Just like the prolific Lund’s subjects run the gamut, so do the sonics on the live-sounding long-player, ranging from rockabilly to Western swing, cowboy balladry to country-rock. And, of course, the occasional yodel…

Cabin Fever follows on the boot heels of Lund’s 2009 New West debut, the critically acclaimed Losin’ Lately Gambler, his sixth album. Backed by his longtime band, The Hurtin’ Albertans, the JUNO Award recipient has won kudos in his native land; the Canadian Country Music Association has named Lund Roots Artist of the Year 7 consecutive years from 2004 – 2010.

For this outing, Lund hunkered down in the remote cabin he built with his girlfriend and former bronc rider/favorite uncle Lynn Jensen, an hour outside Edmonton. After the hand-crafted spruce and poplar building was finished, Lund’s thirteen-year relationship crumbled and his uncle passed away. Woodshedding – literally – came next: “I ended up spending time up there alone for weeks at a time, in the winter, with three feet of snow,” says Lund. “Cabin fever is what they call it when you get a little nuts from being isolated…”

Listening to the acoustic disc’s banjo, guitar, and handclaps, as well as Lund’s Western-inspired songwriting, one can’t help but think the pared-down approach is yet another aspect of the Lund family tradition: After all, Lund learned to sing as a nipper when his grandfather taught him the campfire standard “Strawberry Roan,” which Grandpa Lund picked up via oral tradition from fellow trailhands. “I’ve got one foot in old-fashioned cowboy music,” says Lund, “but I treat it with some abandon and irreverence. The reality is we don’t live in that world anymore – yet the cowboys were kind of punk rockers in their day.”

As for Corb Lund, his Western heritage stays with him, no matter where he roams. “My whole life is sort of a dichotomy between being a cowboy kid and living in a city,” says Lund. “I guess that informs my music too.” On Cabin Fever, that split personality burns bright.

International artists, Sara Evans (USA) and Corb Lund (CAN), will be joining him, along with National artists, Jasmine Rae, Morgan Evans and more to be announced.

Alan Jackson (USA) is one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters in music. He’s in the elite company of Lennon and McCartney among artists who’ve written and recorded more than 20 US #1 hits.

Jackson has sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide, and has scored nearly 40 Top 10 hits in Australia, with 15 #1s including “Good Time,” “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” “Little Bitty” and “I’ll Go On Loving You” – each spent a month at the top of the Australian music charts.

“We’re thrilled to bring one of the very biggest country music superstars to North Queensland for the first time,” said promoter Rob Potts. “I’m a huge Alan Jackson fan myself and this will be a once in a lifetime experience for local fans.”

“North Queenslanders turned out in record numbers for CMC Rocks in 2010, so we’re excited to be bringing this festival back this September,” said promoter Michael Chugg.

“I am delighted Alan Jackson is coming to Townsville,” said Mayor Jenny Hill. “People across the north – from Mount Isa to the Gulf, from western towns and the cane-growing centres along the coast, will flock to the home of the Cowboys – for what will be an incredible event. Come to CMC Rocks North Queensland – and see Alan Jackson rock the jukebox!”

Jackson’s first Australian Tour in 2011, including his headlining show at CMC Rocks the Hunter, sold out Nationally in minutes! Yes, minutes!

“Worth the wait? Most definitely.” said AAP; while Melbourne’s Herald Sun noted “[Jackson] can just about walk on water for his millions of fans”; and Brisbane’s Courier Mail headlined their review, “Country Charm from a Master.”

Sara Evans (USA) has come a long way from singing with her family’s band as a child in Missouri. The ACM Top Female Vocalist and platinum-selling singer-songwriter has built a stellar career in the sixteen years since the release of her debut album. Number #1 hits, including Born to Fly and last year’s smash, A Little Bit Stronger, have made Sara a firm fan favourite. This will be her long-awaited first visit to Australia.

Australia is a second home for Corb Lund (CAN). One of Canada’s coolest, most-respected and awarded country and roots artists, Corb is well-known as a whiskey-and-hockey-loving singer-songwriter. His often quirky, laconic lyrics belie the electricity of his on-stage performance and chemistry with long-time band, the Hurtin’ Albertans.

Corb’s new Canadian #1 album, Cabin Fever, is a ‘must-have’ CD, helping to consolidate his ever-growing Australian fanbase, since his first trip here ten years ago.

In the five years since the release of her debut self-penned single, Jasmine Rae has become one of the most acclaimed artists in Australian country music. Both her debut album, Look It Up , and second album, Listen Here, received ARIA nominations for Best Country Album; yielding three #1 singles and videos each, including her #1 duet, I’ll Try Anything, with US music star, Joe Nichols.

This unique and compelling singer-songwriter, with the soulful, powerful, bluesy voice, won the fan-voted CMC Oz Artist Award 2012, as well as the prestigious, peer-voted CMA Global Artist Award 2013, for her success both here and Internationally. Jasmine is now ready to release her long-awaited, third album in August.

Newcastle singer-songwriter and reigning CMC New Oz Artist of the Year, Morgan Evans, has racked up more career milestones than most – three hit EPs, four #1 videos, CMAA nominations, National Tours with Taylor Swift, Brooks & Dunn and Gary Allan – and now, his Nashville-recorded debut album is set for release in the lead-up to this festival.

As a newly-recruited CMC Rocks television presenter and live-performance favourite, Morgan has become synonymous with his love and passion for the music, feel-good songs and high-octane, roof-raising concerts.

Now in its sixth year, the CMC Rocks festival brand has established itself as the biggest International Country and Roots Festival brand outside of North America. Both CMC Rocks the Hunter (in the Hunter Valley, NSW) and CMC Rocks North Queensland (in Townsville, Qld) draw fans from all states and territories in Australia, as well as from overseas. The inaugural CMC Rocks North Queensland festival was held in 2010 and featured International headliner, Tim McGraw (USA).

More artists for CMC Rocks North Queensland 2013 will be announced soon.

SATURDAY 28 SEPTEMBER – REID PARK, TOWNSVILLE

9 Hours of Non-Stop Music – 1.00pm-10.00pm

TICKET PRICES

Adult – General Admission (15+ Yrs): $169.00*
Junior – General Admission (4-14 Yrs): $89.00*
*Plus payment processing and transaction fees (where applicable).
Free admission to children under 4 years & accompanied by an adult.

TICKETS ON SALE 9AM WEDNESDAY 29 MAY

Book at: cmcrocks.com.au or through select Ticketek outlets. Check website for details.

Edmonton’s beloved country/roots musician won the inaugural ATB Financial Ambassador for the Arts Award at the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts awards gala on Monday night. Just a day prior, Lund picked up three Edmonton Music Awards at the Royal Alberta Museum.

His latest release, Cabin Fever, debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Billboard top 200 and was nominated for the 2013 Juno Award for roots album of the year.

The new award, recognizes an individual or organization that has succeeded, on a national or international level, in enlightening audiences and promoting the Edmonton, cultural, performance or visual art scene in an extraordinary way. Lund beat out a host of other worthy contenders: musicians Tommy Banks and Ben Sures, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Annie Dugan of Firefly Theatre, Jonathan Christenson of Catalyst Theatre, Rapid Fire Theatre and Wishbone Theatre’s Michael Peng and Chris Bullough.

Mayor Stephen Mandel handed out the annual arts awards at the Winspear Centre between performances by local artists.

Edmonton Journal arts writer Fish Griwkowsky won the John Poole Promotion of the Arts Award for his passionate and dogged support for Edmonton’s arts scene. Griwkowsky joined the Journal in 2011.

He writes and blogs about visual arts, music, movies and other cultural happenings. He has worked with Lund on music videos and album photography, as well as with local filmmaker Trevor Anderson on short films including The Man That Got Away and The High Level Bridge. Griwkowsky is also a photographer and does the Bill Benson comic strip for Vue Weekly magazine.

The Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize of $10,000 went to poet and rancher Nora Gould for her debut poetry collection I see my love more clearly from a distance (Brick Books).

Also nominated were Tim Bowling, for his latest novel The Tinsmith (Brindle & Glass) and Catherine Cole for Piece by Piece: The GWG Story (Goose Lane Editions).

John Mahon, who is stepping down from his role as Edmonton Arts Council’s executive director, won the Atco Gas Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement, while the Dialog Award for Excellence in Artistic Direction went to Northern Light Theatre’s Trevor Schmidt, who presides over a company that offers provocative repertoire.

Shawn Pinchbeck, an electroacoustic music composer, sound designer and media artist, picked up the Telus Courage to Innovate Award, while the Northlands Emerging Artist Award went to Omar Mouallem, the current writer-in-residence at the Edmonton Public Library.

Tom McFall, executive director of the Alberta Craft Council, won the Syncrude Award for Excellence in Arts Management, and Timothy Dowler-Coltman won the CN Youth Artist Award.

The Mayor’s Award for Sustained Support of the Arts went to Robert Rosen, CEO of City Lumber, and the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation won the Mayor’s Award for Innovative Support of the Arts by a Business.

Corb Lund won three times at the Edmonton Music Awards at the Royal Alberta Museum on April 28, 2012.
Photograph by: Shaughn Butts , Edmonton Journal

Edmonton’s swirling musical pond is beginning to nurture some pretty big fish.

The third annual Edmonton Music Awards celebrated some of the city’s brightest talent Sunday night, while highlighting those making the largest splash in the local scene.

Country/roots veteran Corb Lund picked up three honours during the show, which didn’t come as a surprise to the sold-out crowd of nearly 400 musicians and fans. Lund’s latest release, Cabin Fever, debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Billboard top 200 and was up for a 2013 Juno Award earlier this month.

Lund, a previous Juno winner who is also a seven-time Roots Artist of the Year recipient at the Canadian Country Music Awards, earned EMAs for Male Artist Of The Year, Country Recording Of The Year and People’s Choice. Lund is also one of eight performers nominated for the inaugural Ambassador of the Arts Award that will be handed out Monday night at the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts.

“Thanks very much,” a grinning, nodding Lund said Sunday night, laughing nervously.

His growing list of accolades will make a fine profile-booster as he gears up for a North American tour, which will see him trucking across Canada and dipping down into the United States this summer, starting next week.

Sunday’s event was held at the Royal Alberta Museum Theatre and was hosted by singer/actor/television host Bridget Ryan. Most in the crowd exchanged their usual casual wear for suits, ties and bright, flowing dresses. All winners went home with an award fashioned out of a vintage, thrift-store vinyl record that bore the winner’s name on the label.

Lund, Sparrow and Mitchmatic all arrived at the party boasting six nominations each. Although there was no Adele-esque clean-sweep like the 2012 Grammys, the growing number of multiple winners may be an indication of some big blowouts in the not-so-distant future.

Between awards, audience members were entertained with performances by some of the nominees, including electro-rock band SIIINES, folk rockers Owls By Nature and the night’s big winner Corb Lund.

Overall, about 107 acts submitted to the EMAs, a healthy increase from last year’s 75 submissions. More than 60 videos alone were entered into the music video category. To enter, artists had to live within Edmonton and area, including St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Stony Spruce Grove and Stony Plain. The eligibility period for the 2013 Edmonton Music Awards was between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012.

Winners were determined by a panel of more than 40 judges consisting of local musicians and music critics.

Corb Lund’s 2013 Edmonton Music Awards:

Male Artist Of The Year: Corb Lund

Country Recording Of The Year: Corb Lund Cabin Fever

People’s Choice: Corb Lund

Corb’s most recent release on New West Records – Cabin Fever – was his highest Canadian Billboard top 200 debut, hitting #1 in its first week of release. He is a Juno-award winner and seven time Roots Artist of the Year winner at the Canadian Country Music Awards. In a recent Maclean’s magazine article, Lund’s audience appeal was described in specific detail “Lund is the rare country musician who unites Fort McMurray oil rig workers, Toronto tree-huggers and everyone in between: classic rockers, hardcore country fans, campus radio geeks, and anyone who loves a good yarn, regardless of musical genre.” These upcoming Canadian tour dates will surely see all of these types in one room.

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

UPCOMING TOUR DATES
FORT ST. JOHN, BC – May 5, 2013, North Peace Cultural Centre
TERRACE, BC – May 7, 2013, R.E.M. Lee Theatre
SMITHERS, BC – May 8, 2013, Roi Theatre
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – May 9, 2013, CN Centre
PENTICTON, BC – May 10, 2013, Cleland Community Theatre
MISSION, BC – Mat 11, 2013, Clarke Foundation Theatre
CAMPBELL RIVER, BC – May 12, 2013, The Tidemark Theatre
NANAIMO, BC – May 13, 2013, The Port Theatre
COURTENAY, BC – May 14, 2013, The Waverly Hotel
DUNCAN, BC – May 15, 2013, Cowichan Theatre
TRAIL, BC – May 16, 2013, Charles Bailey Theatre
CRANBROOK, BC – May 17, 2013, Key City Theatre
SPOKANE, WA – May 18, 2013, Chateau Rive at the Flour Mill
SEATTLE, WA – May 19, 2013, Tractor Tavern
PORTLAND, OR – May 21, 2013, Mississippi Studios
EUGENE, OR – May 22, 2013, WOW Hall
TORONTO, ON – May 25, 2013, CBCMusic.ca Festival
GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB – June 20, 2013, TEC Centre, Evergreen Park
DAUPHIN, MB – June 29, 2013, Countryfest (Hilltop Stage)
DAUPHIN, MB – June 30, 2013, Countryfest (Main Stage)
LANDER, WY – July 5, 2013, Lander Outdoor Theatre
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, MT – July 26, 2013, Red Ants Pants Festival
BENGOUGH, SK – July 27, 2013, The Gateway Festival
DETROIT LAKES, MN – Aug. 1, 2013, WE Fest
CHALLIS, ID – Aug. 9, 2013, Braun Brothers Reunion

ABOUT CABIN FEVER
Goth girls to survivalists, bovines to bibles, antique pistols to vintage motorcycles: Alberta-born honky-tonker Corb Lund’s songcraft covers it all. Cabin Fever – Corb Lund’s enthralling sixth record – had its worldwide release on New West Records on August 14, 2012. This follows on the boot heels of Corb’s 2009 New West Records debut, the critically acclaimed Losin’ Lately Gambler.

The JUNO Award-winner and seven-time Roots Artist of the Year winner at the Canadian Country Music Awards wrote most of the twelve track album whilst hunkered down in a remote cabin an hour outside Edmonton, inspired by crude life events – a broken relationship and the death of his uncle. Backed by his longtime band, The Hurtin’ Albertans (guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Grant Siemens, upright bassist Kurt Ciesla, and drummer Brady Valgardson), the band recorded loose and live, with almost no overdubs.

Cabin Fever offers a portrait of a survivalist preparing for the apocalypse (“Gettin’ Down On The Mountain”); a tale of a rural man losing a woman to the allure of New York City life (“September”); an ode to his vintage BMW motorcycles (“Mein Deutsches Motorrad”); the broken-hearted anthem “(You Ain’t A Cowboy) If You Ain’t Been Bucked Off”; new drinking songs such as “Drink It Like You Mean It” and “Pour ‘Em Kinda Strong”; the yodelling introduction and physicality of “Priceless Antique Pistol Shoots Startled Owner”; and another throwback to his punk days (when he claimed membership in the speed-metal band The Smalls), the desire to date “The Gothest Girl I Can.”

Just like Corb’s subjects run the gamut, so do the sonics on the long-player, ranging from rockabilly to Western swing, cowboy balladry to country-rock. And, of course, the occasional yodel… It’s this sort of versatility that brings out a raft of audiences to his shows; from field and urban sidewalk, alike.

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Media Contact:
Rebecca Webster
rebecca@webstermediaconsulting.com

Photo Credit: Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage

STREAM IT AT NPR.COM

Corb Lund makes his first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, W.Va. Lund was born into a family of Canadian cattle ranchers and spent most of his youth in Alberta’s southern foothills. Perhaps as a result, his particular blend of country mixes the best of cowboy music, Western swing and rockabilly with a steely edge.

Lund’s sound hasn’t gone unnoticed: He’s won a Juno award and counts Dierks Bentley among his biggest fans, while superstar Miranda Lambert recently tweeted that she’s a “total fan” of his music. Lund has also toured with Americana favorite Hayes Carll, who guested in “Bible on the Dash” from Lund’s most recent album, Cabin Fever.

Here, Lund plays songs from Cabin Fever and is backed by his own band, including Grant Siemens on lead guitar and mandolin, Kurt Ciesla on upright bass and drummer Brady Valgardson.

Set List
“Gettin’ Down On The Mountain”
“September”
“Bible On The Dash”
“Cows Around”
“The Truth Comes Out”
“Rye Whiskey”

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Corb Lund’s 2013 JUNO Nomination:

Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo
Corb Lund – Cabin Fever (New West Records/Universal)

Good Luck Corb!

For more information visit: http://www.ctv.ca/Junos.aspx

The Sunday Afternoon Roots showcase will feature Ridley Bent (2 p.m.), Hayes Carll (3:30 p.m.) and Corb Lund (5 p.m.) on the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Main Stage.

The four-day camping music festival runs June 27 to June 30 and will celebrate its 24th anniversary this year. Tickets sold out in 12 hours back in November.

Visit http://countryfest.ca