On Monday night Godspeed You! Black Emperor won the 2013 Polaris Music Prize for the album, ALLELUJAH! DON’T BEND! ASCEND!. The winner was decided and announced during the 8th annual gala event at The Carlu in Toronto. Godspeed You! Black Emperor was awarded a $30,000 cash prize.
The band were not in attendance at the awards, though representatives from their label Constellation Records said Godspeed would be using the prize money to fund music programs in prisons.
“Godspeed will use the prize money to purchase musical instruments for, and support organizations providing music lessons to, people incarcerated within the Quebec prison system,” said Don Wilkie from Constellation.
The gala event included performances by eight of the 10 nominees, including Zaki Ibrahim, Metric, METZ, Purity Ring, Colin Stetson, A Tribe Called Red, Whitehorse and Young Galaxy. There were also a number of high-profile presenters at the awards like Sarah McLachlan, George Stroumboulopoulos, Michie Mee Joseph Boyden, Sebastien Grainger and Martin Gero.
For an account of the evening’s highlights go to polarismusicprize.ca/article/695/godspeed-you-black-emperor-win-the-2013-polaris-music-prize/.
