Music/Features

Voting is now open for the 2022 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize that honours, perhaps, overlooked or underappreciated Canadian albums from the past. It’s the Polaris Awards’ version of their Hall of Fame with the selection criteria being “albums of distinction, without regard to sales, genre or affiliation”.

And you get to vote! Vote here before Fri. Oct. 14 at 8 pm ET, 5 pm PT and have your say.

There are two selections each year with one chosen by the public vote and one chosen by a panel of music history “experts” – plus new this year, a fulltime musician.

Last year, Nonmeansno was honoured for their 1989 album, Wrong, as chosen by the public vote and well as Faith Nolan for her 1986 album, Africville chosen by the Heritage Committee.

This year’s Heritage Prize jury includes: Michael Barclay, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, Erin McLeod, Phyllis Grant, DJ MelBoogie, Morgan Mullin, Darcy MacDonald, Shawn Conner, Sandra Sperounes, Rob Bowman, and, for the first time, an official guest musician juror, Danko Jones.

Thirty-five albums have received Heritage Prize designation since its introduction in 2015. Past winning albums include: Peaches’ The Teaches Of Peaches, Harmonium’s L’Heptade, Glenn Gould’s Bach: The Goldberg Variations, Dream Warriors’ And Now the Legacy Begins and Buffy Sainte-Marie’s It’s My Way!

Heritage Prize winners are commemorated with limited-edition artwork commissioned and inspired by the music on these designated albums. Examples of past winners’ works, including those honouring last year’s winners Nomeansno and Faith Nolan, can be found here.

Winners of this year’s Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize will be announced Fri., Oct. 21.

This year’s 12 albums being considered for honours include: