Toronto’s rising star of electronia, Debby Friday, was announced as the 2023 Polaris Music Prize winner, in a ceremony at the legendary Massey Hall on Tuesday night.
“I’ve always been a little bit strange, a little bit different from other people, and it’s only in retrospect that I’ve been able to see that this has been a superpower all along,” Debby Friday said in her acceptance speech, which paid tribute to staying true to yourself. “I just want to say that I think it’s very important to protect your strangeness, protect the things that make you different. These are gifts that you’ve been given in this lifetime.”
Debby Friday’s win came during a powerful and diverse night of music at Toronto’s Massey Hall, that had the audience grooving, dancing, and thoroughly absorbed with music throughout the night.
In addition to her beautiful and dazzling performance of her standout single, “So Hard to Tell,” performances also included a wild opening by Gayance, who invited Montreal electronic trio, Raveen, to help get the audience moving; Begonia, whose powerful voice clear in the highest points of the famed theatre; and Dan Mangan, who serenaded the audience with his deeply conversational lyrics. Subtle but powerful tributes were given to Dallas Good, when the Sadies, performed selections from their nominated Colder Streams in front of an artist portrait of their late guitarist; and Aysanabee’s late grandfather, Watin, remained in perfect center stage spotlight throughout his performance of “Long Gone.” Finally, the ever-dynamic, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, brought a bit of comedy to their set along with their exciting style of hip-hop.
The Polaris Music Prize is awarded the best Canadian album of the year, as chosen by a Grand Jury of 11 music media professionals (drawn from the greater Polaris jury pool of 205 music media and selectors from across the country) and is based on artistic merit without regard to genre, sales history or label affiliation. The winner is chosen from a ten album Short List and is awarded $50,000 (courtesy of Slaight Music), while the remaining nine nominees are awarded $3,000.