Long List for Polaris Music Prize just announced

We’ve set up a short quiz for you.

Question one: Fancy winning $50,000 in three months’ time?

Yes? Great news!

Question two: Did you release the best album of the year?

If you answered yes to both, you’re probably on the Long List for the Polaris Music Prize.

Established in 2006, the Polaris is awarded annually to the best full-length album by a Canadian. One of the highest-profile prizes to be judged on artistic merit over record sales, the accolade allows near-unknown bands to go toe-to-toe with heavyweights like Drake and Bieber. (Which is just as well, because Biebs would almost certainly waste that $50,000 on another god-awful tattoo.)

Revealing its 2016 Long List this afternoon, the Polaris Music Prize highlights some of the best talent the nation has to offer—and, of course, Vancouverites are all over the roster.

Punk-rock stalwart Art Bergmann makes the lineup for his record The Apostate, an album that goes head to head with Black Mountain’s creatively titled fourth LP, IV. Long-standing rock group Destroyer notches up a nomination with Poison Season, and multi-instrumentalist Veda Hille gets the recognition she deserves for Love Waves. And that’s not to forget up-and-coming punk group White Lung, whose new offering Paradise sneaks in too.

Grimes scoops a nomination for Art Angels (yes, we’re claiming her as one of our own), and Carly Rae Jepsen makes the cut with E•MO•TION (but we’ve chosen to disown her.)

That Long List will be whittled down to just 10 acts on July 14, and the final winner will be announced in September.

Check out the Polaris Music Prize website for the full list of names.