CBC presents the Polaris Music Prize has revealed a sprawling series of events spread across Ontario in September as part of the first-ever Polaris Festival.
Presented by long-time partner SiriusXM Canada, the Polaris Festival will be a celebration of the organization’s 20th anniversary with events like Salons, Listening Parties, Poster Exhibits, and Concerts, all complimenting the annual Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony, taking place at Massey Hall in Toronto on September 16. The aim of the Polaris Festival is to spotlight as many of our 600+ past nominees as possible while reaching new audiences through expanded programming and diverse venues.
The 15 event schedule will feature, amongst other things, past champ Cadence Weapon DJing amidst dinosaur bones, five-time Short Lister Shad hosting an easy listening Winner Ceremony pre-party, team ups with three separate music festivals (Supercrawl, Beautiful View, Second Summer) and exclusive glimpses into new music from The Dears and SATE. That’s on top of educational Salons on how Polaris works, production insights with Clairmont The Second, and a special workshop with Katie Stelmanis (Austra) and Casey Mecija (Ohbijou).
Check-out the full Polaris Festival lineup and get your tickets here.
More events will be announced over the coming weeks.
Polaris Festival Schedule
Poster Exhibition – Looking At Polaris: A Retrospective Poster Show
Cry Baby Gallery, Toronto
September 2-10, 7 PM – 2 AM
FREE
Polaris will be returning to Cry Baby Gallery to display a retrospective exhibition celebrating the bold, graphic history of the Polaris Music Prize. This touring show features posters from every year of the prize’s poster history, each one a unique visual tribute to Canada’s most creative albums.
University of Toronto’s Hart House, Toronto
September 3, 6-9 PM
Co-presented by Hart House Hip Hop Education, this intimate music production-focused event will be moderated by Marco Adamovic with expert support from 4x Polaris nominee Clairmont The Second.
Responsive Ecologies Lab (RELab) at TMU, Toronto
September 7, 1:30-3:30 PM
Katie Stelmanis (Austra) and Casey Mecija (Ohbijou) will lead a gender-diverse workshop series for learning and practicing Modular Synthesis.
Salon – De-Mystifying Polaris Salon
Daniel’s Spectrum, Toronto
September 8, 6-8 PM
Co-presented with Music Managers Forum, this industry-focused panel talk will shed light on the Polaris universe.
Concert – Supercrawl & Polaris Festival Present: Sister Ray And Eliza Niemi
Mills Hardware, Hamilton
September 12, 8-10:30 PM
A special side-quest to both Supercrawl and the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony, this bill featuring past nominees Sister Ray and Eliza Niemi will take place at the intimate Mills Hardware space.
The show will also feature a Polaris Poster Exhibition. This pop-up Polaris Poster show features posters from the prize’s poster archive, each one a unique visual tribute to Canada’s most creative albums. Part music history, part art show, and on display for one night only.
Salon & Rave – Night Mirror: The Psychic Raver Salon
University of Toronto’s Hart House, Toronto
September 13, 10 PM-3 AM
TICKETS LAUNCHING AUGUST 20
Co-presented with Lotion Magazine. A guided 1-on-1 experience inside the rave where a psychic helps attendees pause, reflect, and set an intention for the night ahead.
Listening Session – The Dears Listening Session
Sounds Good, Toronto
September 13, 4-7 PM
Multi-time nominees The Dears will host an exclusive listening session of new music at Sounds Good in Toronto.
Concert – Beautiful View & Polaris Festival Present Cedric Noel And Justin Rutledge
Belleville Club, Belleville
September 13, 3-7:30 PM
Past 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 by fellow Polaris alumni Cedric Noel and Justin Rutledge, with Polaris co-presenting.
The show will also feature a Polaris Poster Exhibition. This pop-up Polaris Poster show features posters from the prize’s poster history, each one a unique visual tribute to Canada’s most creative albums. Part music history, part art show, and on display for one day only.
Loveless Cafe, Toronto
September 15, 9 – 11 PM
One night before the big Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony 5x Short-Lister Shad will play and unpack a set of easy listening gems he loves, live at Loveless Cafe.
Concert – Polaris 2025 Official Afterparty – Featuring TEKE::TEKE
Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto
September 16, 10 PM-1 AM
Celebrate the reveal of this year’s #Polaris2025 Album, Song, and Heritage Prize winners with a special performance by 2x nominees TEKE::TEKE.
Listening Session – Polaris Festival Presents: Raw Reflections With SATE
The Vault, Creation Lab, Toronto
September 22, 7:30-9:30 PM
Toronto rock force SATE hosts a special preview listening session of her bold new rock opera recordings, punctuated with live moments alongside her band.
Concert – JayWood At Second Summer Festival Launch Party
Lee’s Palace, Toronto
September 24, 7 PM, 19+
Polaris will support the Second Summer indie festival launch party with past nominee JayWood joining a bold lineup of underground sounds alongside standout artists like Dry Cleaning, Bria Salmena and Slash Need.
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
September 26, 7:15 PM
Co-presented with the Royal Ontario Museum, Polaris‑winning Cadence Weapon and past short-listed nominee Junia‑T take over the decks 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. It’s a rare Mesozoic mash‑up of club vibes and Ankylosaural atmospheres.
The festival events are part of a massive suite of #Polaris2025 programming that also includes the launch of the new SOCAN Polaris Song Prize, the shift of the public vote hall of fame Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize campaign from late-fall into August, and the return of the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony to Toronto’s historic Massey Hall for the third straight year on September 16. Winners of this year’s traditional Polaris Album Prize, the new Song Prize, and the Heritage Prize will all be revealed at the Massey Hall event, hosted by past winner Haviah Mighty. Tickets to the Polaris Concert & Award Ceremony are on sale now via the Massey Hall website. To celebrate the Short List, Polaris is offering 15% off tickets with the code POLARIS15.