The following musical events and releases that happened in 2021 in Canada.
Events April 10 – 16th Canadian Folk Music AwardsBrock Thiessen, "Canadian Folk Music Awards Unveil 2021 Nominees". Exclaim!, December 1, 2020. April 12 - CBC Music launches Canada Listens, a new musical version of the CBC's long-running literature debate show Canada Reads. Kardinal Offishall's album Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 is announced as the winner of the competition at the end of the week. June 6 – Juno Awards of 2021David Friend, "Juno Awards postpone 50th anniversary show date to June 6 amid COVID-19 pandemic". Toronto Star, April 14, 2021. June 15 - Initial longlist for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize announced July 15 - Shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize announced July 26 - Prism Prize winners announced July 28 - SOCAN Songwriting Prize winners announced September 27 - Cadence Weapon wins the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for his album Parallel World"Cadence Weapon wins Polaris Music Prize for ‘Parallel World’". The Globe and Mail, September 27, 2021. November 7 - 43rd Félix Awards November 29 - 2021 Canadian Country Music AwardsDavid Friend, "‘Drag Race’ winner Priyanka to co-host Canada’s country music awards with Lindsay Ell". Toronto Star, November 8, 2021.
Albums released
0-9 347aidan, Chasing HarmonyLaura Robinson, "Viral Canadian Punk Star 347aidan Takes The Stage". Next Magazine.
A Afrikana Soul Sister, Kalasö AHI, Prospect Alaskan Tapes, For Us Alone Jeremie Albino and Cat Clyde, Blue Blue BlueScott Roos, "Cat Clyde & Jeremie Albino's 'Blue Blue Blue' Is a Fun Foray into Blues Blues Blues". Exclaim!, May 18, 2021. Alee, Feels Like This - July 16 All Hands Make Light, All Hands Make LightErik Leijon, "Two stars of the Montreal music scene unite for All Hands Make Light". Cult MTL, September 23, 2021. a l l i e, Tabula RasaCalum Slingerland, "a l l i e Announces New Album 'Tabula Rasa'". Exclaim!, August 13, 2021. Arkells, Blink Once - September 30 Tenille Arts, Girl to Girl - October 22
B Backxwash, I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses - May 28"21 Canadian albums we can't wait to hear in 2021". CBC Music, December 30, 2020. BadBadNotGood, Talk Memory - October 8 James Baley, A StoryRichard Trapunski, "Toronto’s best music 2021: albums, concerts and so many songs to stream" . Now, December 9, 2021. Ashleigh Ball, Before All the Magic's GoneAlex Hudson, "Exclaim!'s 29 Most Anticipated Canadian Albums of 2021". Exclaim!, January 4, 2021. Gord Bamford, Diamonds in a Whiskey Glass - June 4 Barenaked Ladies, Detour de Force - July 16 Quinton Barnes, As a Motherfucker The Beaches, Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album) Beatchild, Unselfish Desires - August 13 Bell Orchestre, House Music - March 19 Belly, See You Next Wednesday - August 27 Beppie, Dino-Mite! Art Bergmann, Late Stage Empire Dementia - May 21Josiah Hughes, "Art Bergmann Details New Album 'Late Stage Empire Dementia,' Shares 'Entropy'". Exclaim!, March 19, 2021. Bernice, Eau de Bonjourno The Besnard Lakes, The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings - January 29Alex Hudson, "The Besnard Lakes Share Trippy 'Feuds with Guns' Video". Exclaim!, December 29, 2020. Justin Bieber, Justice - March 19 Big Brave, Vital Big Brave with The Body, Leaving None but Small Birds Big Wreck, Big Wreck 7.1 - November 19 Blue Rodeo, Many a Mile - December 3 The Blue Stones, Hidden Gems - March 19 Born Ruffians, Pulp - April 16 Boslen, Dusk to DawnMitch Mosk, "INTROSPECTIVE, CINEMATIC, & DARK”: BOSLEN DIVES INTO THE VULNERABLE DEPTHS OF DEBUT ALBUM ‘DUSK TO DAWN’". Atwood Magazine, October 4, 2021. Boy Golden, Church of Better Daze"Introducing Boy Golden, your new favourite country outlier". CBC Music, December 8, 2021. Boys Night Out, Nevermind 2 - July 16 Jon Bryant, Psychidyllic Salutations - November 26 T. Buckley, Frame by Frame Spencer Burton, CoyoteVish Khanna, "Spencer Burton Keeps Hope Alive on 'Coyote'". Exclaim!, February 19, 2021.
C Cadence Weapon, Parallel World - April 30"Spring 2021 guide: 21 albums you need to hear". CBC Music, March 19, 2021. Alessia Cara, In the Meantime - September 24 Casey MQ, babycasey: ultraAlex Hudson, "Casey MQ Announces 'babycasey: ultra' Remix Album". Exclaim!, September 29, 2021. Charlotte Cardin, Phoenix - April 23Calum Slingerland, "Charlotte Cardin Readies Debut Album 'Phoenix'". Exclaim!, February 12, 2021. Casper Skulls, Knows No Kindness - November 12Calum Slingerland, "Casper Skulls Detail Sophomore Album 'Knows No Kindness'". Exclaim!, August 26, 2021. Choses Sauvages, Choses Sauvages II Annabelle Chvostek, String of Pearls Cœur de pirate, Perséides (April 30); Impossible à aimer (October 15) Louis-Jean Cormier, Le ciel est au plancher - April 16Louis-Philippe Labrèche, "Louis-Jean Cormier annonce son nouvel album : Le ciel est au plancher". Le Canal auditif, March 19, 2021. Charlotte Cornfield, Highs in the Minuses - October 29 Crown Lands, White Buffalo
D The Damn Truth, Now or Nowhere Death From Above 1979, Is 4 Lovers - March 26 Art d'Ecco, In Standard Definition The Deep Dark Woods, Changing Faces Del Barber, Stray Dogs (Collected B-Sides / Vol. 1) - August 20 Devours, Escape from Planet Devours The Dirty Nil, Fuck Art - January 1 Julie Doiron, I Thought of You - November 26Matt Bobkin, "Julie Doiron Announces 'I Thought of You,' First Solo Album in Nine Years". Exclaim!, September 21, 2021. Drake, Certified Lover Boy - September 3 Drake, Scary Hours 2 - March 5 Kevin Drew, Influences - July 16 Dru, The Rebirth MMXX - May 27 Ducks Ltd., Modern Fiction Willie Dunn, Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never DiesSam Sodomsky, "Willie Dunn — Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology". Pitchfork, March 22, 2021. Marc Dupré, Où sera le monde Melanie Durrant, Where I'm At - May 7 Dvsn, Amusing Her Feelings - January 15 Dvsn and Ty Dolla Sign, Cheers to the Best Memories - August 20
E Jade Eagleson, Honkytonk Revival - November 12 Efajemue, Aesthetics Emanuel, Alt Therapy Micah Erenberg, For the Ones Who Love Me Now; Frozen in Time André Ethier, Further Up Island
F Michael Feuerstack, Harmonize The Moon - March 19 Dominique Fils-Aimé, Three Little Words - February 12 Jeremy Fisher, Hello Blue Monday The Franklin Electric, This Time I See It - September 24
G The Garrys, Get Thee to a Nunnery Gayance, No Toning Down Godspeed You! Black Emperor, G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! - April 2 Great Aunt Ida, Unsayable - September 7Shawn Conner, "‘Great Aunt Ida’ Nilsen returns with the lush Unsayable". Vancouver Sun, September 1, 2021. Great Lake Swimmers, Live at the Redeemer 2007 - May 14Brock Thiessen, "Great Lake Swimmers Announce 'Live at the Redeemer 2007'". Exclaim!, February 25, 2021. Grievous Angels, Summer Before the StormKerry Doole, "NDP MP Charlie Angus' Songwriting Remains Potent on Grievous Angels' 'Summer Before the Storm'". Exclaim!, January 13, 2021. G. R. Gritt, Ancestors
H Half Moon Run, Inwards & Onwards Hillsburn, Slipping Away Home Front, Think of the Lie TheHonestGuy, Love Songs for No One Hunter Brothers, Been a Minute - June 30 Nate Husser, Adult SupervisionMichael Meanchoff, "Montréal’s Nate Husser enlists Mick Jenkins, Jean Deaux & Eva Shaw for Adult Supervision". HipHopCanada, June 30, 2021. Andrew Hyatt, The Wanderspace Sessions (February); Wild Flowers (July)
I Brandon Isaak, Modern Primitive Islands, Islomania - June 11
J JayWood, Some Days Jazz Cartier, The Fleur Print - September 10 Sean Jones, Weekend Lover - November 5
K Greg Keelor, Share the Love Mo Kenney, Covers - February 26Stephen Cooke, "Mo Kenney’s got this covered: new album offers fresh takes of favourite tunes". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, February 24, 2021. Shawnee Kish, Shawnee Kish - June 25Conchita Galvez, "'Music is medicine': Shawnee Kish on her new EP, identifying as two-spirit". CTV News Edmonton, June 15, 2021. Brett Kissel, What Is Life? - April 9 Kiwi Jr., Cooler Returns - January 22 Korea Town Acid, Metamorphosis (April); Cosmos (October) Nicholas Krgovich, This SpringStuart Derdeyn, "Nicholas Krgovich releases collection of Veda Hille songs This Spring". Vancouver Sun, May 14, 2021.
L Land of Talk, Calming Night Partner - November 12 Daniel Lanois, Heavy Sun - March 19 Thierry Larose, Cantalou Sook-Yin Lee and Adam Litovitz, Hubert Lenoir, - September 15Yara El-Soueidi, "Quebec Media Rejected Hubert Lenoir, So He's Taking Over the World Instead". Exclaim!, September 13, 2021. Simon Leoza, Albatross Loony, Soft Thing; Turf Loscil, Clara - May 28 Russell Louder, Humor Love Language, Trying to Reach You The Lowest of the Low, Taverns and Palaces - December 10Jason Schneider, "Essentials... with Lowest Of The Low’s Ron Hawkins". FYI Music News, December 9, 2021.
M Majid Jordan, Wildest Dreams - October 22 Manila Grey, No Saints on Knight Street Martha and the Muffins, Marthology: In and Outtakes - November 5Nick Krewen, "Martha and the Muffins’ fresh batch almost ready — but in the meantime, their anthology lets them look back". Toronto Star, October 30, 2021. Matt Mays, From Burnside with Love Kyle McKearney, Down-Home Kairo McLean, Easy Now Kelly McMichael, Waves Myst Milano, Shapeshyfter"The Sound of September 2021: This Month's Essential New Releases". Exclaim!, September 14, 2021. Millimetrik, Sun-Drenched Ariane Moffatt, Incarnat - March 25Josée Lapointe, "Le nouvel album d’Ariane Moffatt sortira le 26 mars". La Presse, February 26, 2021. Monowhales, Daytona Bleach Jess Moskaluke, The Demos - February 19 Mother Mother, Inside - June 25 Mouth Congress, Waiting for Henry - December 10Calum Slingerland, "Kids in the Hall's Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini Detail Mouth Congress Retrospective Album". Exclaim!, October 26, 2021. Mustafa, When Smoke Rises - May 28
N N Nao and Joni Void, L’oiseau chante avec ses doigts Nimkii and the Niniis, Nang Giizhigoong Laura Niquay, Waska Matisiwin Safia Nolin, Seum Justin Nozuka, Then, Now & Again - April 9
O Ocie Elliott, Slow TideKaitlin Irving, "Ocie Elliott Find Peace on 'Slow Tide' EP" . Exclaim!, March 12, 2021. Odonis Odonis, SpectrumsMatt Bobkin, "Odonis Odonis Announce New Album 'Spectrums'". Exclaim!, March 9, 2021. Steven Lee Olsen, Relationship Goals - July 30 The Oot n' Oots, Ponderosa Bunchgrass and the Golden Rule John Orpheus, Saga KingErrol Nazareth, "John Orpheus: Saga Boy finds his identity". Words & Music, July 14, 2021. Ouri, Frame of a FaunaDaniel McIntosh, "Ouri Offers Something for Everyone, from Electronic to Neo-Classical, on 'Frame of a Fauna'". Exclaim!, October 20, 2021.
P Dorothea Paas, Anything Can't Happen - May 7Alex Hudson, "Dorothea Paas Shows That Anything Can Happen on 'Anything Can't Happen'". Exclaim!, May 5, 2021. Meghan Patrick, Heart on My Glass - June 25 Nico Paulo, Live at First Light Dany Placard, Astronomie (suite) Planet Giza, Don't Throw Rocks at the MoonMr. Wavvy, "REVIEW: Planet Giza, Don’t Throw Rocks at the Moon". Cult MTL, April 6, 2021. The Joel Plaskett Emergency, Twenty Years Gone: The Joel Plaskett Emergency Revisits Down at the KhyberRichard Woodbury, "2 decades after Down at the Khyber, the Joel Plaskett Emergency re-records landmark album". CBC News Nova Scotia, October 16, 2021. Plaza, Nocturnes - October 1 Pony, TV BabyAdam Feibel, "PONY Make Millennial Malaise Sound Fun on 'TV Baby'". Exclaim!, April 7, 2021. Postdata, Twin Flames - March 5 Garth Prince, Falling in Africa Priyanka, Taste Test - July 16Corey Atad, "‘Canada’s Drag Race’ Winner Priyanka Releasing Debut EP ‘Taste Test’. ET Canada, July 14, 2021.
R Raised By Swans, Raised By Swans Is the Name of a Man, Volume 1 - February 9 Rare Americans, Rare Americans 2 (March); Jamesy Boy & The Screw Loose Zoo (November) Rhye, Home - January 22 Robert Robert, Silicone VillerayJosée Lapointe, "Énergie positive". La Presse, May 29, 2021. Daniel Romano, Cobra Poems Daniel Romano, Fully Plugged In Daniel Romano, Kissing the Foe Royal Canoe, Sidelining - July 9