Canadian metal legends Voivod will perform at the Montreal International Jazz Festival (Festival International de Jazz de Montréal) on June 30th at Club Soda. The band has posted the following update with a video clip:

"We are excited for Jazzfest to roll around so we can showcase the skills of our very METAL friends...

Tenor Sax: Francois D'Amours
Trumpet: Dominic Leveille and Maxime St-Pierre (Elvis Garneau)
Bass Trombone: Jean-Sébastien Vachon
Tenor Trombone: Renaud Gratton!

Our very own Dan 'Chewy' Mongrain wrote the arrangement being played by these amazing musicians and we are very excited to hit the stage with them."

The Polaris Music Prize, presented by CBC Music, has unveiled the 40 albums on the 2019 Long List, and Voivod's latest album, The Wake, has made the list. This year’s Long List is presented by Canada Council for the Arts.

In total, 233 albums were considered by the 199 member jury for Long List selection. The announcement took place earlier today at The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

“Canada Council is thrilled to support the musical talent recognized by the Polaris Prize and the success of new generations of Canadian artists here and abroad," said Carolyn Warren, Director General, Arts Granting Programs Division / Directrice générale, Division des programmes de subventions aux arts.

2015 Polaris Music Prize winner, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Music Programs Manager at Manitoba Film and Music and Weakerthans member, Stephen Carroll, Manitoba’s Leader Of The Opposition and author/musician, Wab Kinew and Polaris juror, Ashley Bieniarz, were all on hand to help present the Long List nominees. Past-Short List and current-Long List nominees, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, ended the ceremony with a surprise performance of music from their Long-Listed album, Trapline.

The 10 album Short List will be announced on July 16. The 2019 Polaris Music Prize winner will be revealed at the Polaris Gala on Monday, September 16 at the Carlu in Toronto, and will be live streamed globally via CBC Music.

The Polaris Music Prize awards $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration for genre or record sales. Additionally, the nine other nominated acts whose albums make the 2019 Short List will receive $3,000 each courtesy of Slaight Music.

View the complete Long List here.

Voivod have also been nominated for International Artist of the Year in the 2019 Progressive Music Awards. The awards ceremony is to take place September 12th in London, England at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Voting for the awards is open now at this location.

Voivod have announced an upcoming North American tour with US technical death metal band Revocation. The fall tour will begin on September 14 in Toronto and conclude in Brooklyn on October 12. Also joining the bill are Psycroptic, Skeletal Remains, and Conjurer.

September
14 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
15 - Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch
16 - Chicago, IL - Metro
17 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
18 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theatre
20 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite
21 - Calgary, AB - Dickens
23 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
24 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
25 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
27 - Petaluma, CA - Phoenix Theater
28 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
29 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
30 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red

October
1 - Albuquerque, NM - LaunchPad
3 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Live **
4 - Austin, TX - Mohawk **
5 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall **
6 - New Orleans, LA - Parish at House Of Blues
7 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade **
9 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
10 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
11 - Worcester, MA - Palladium / Rock N Shock Festival #
12 - Brooklyn, NY - Bazaar

** - plus Municipal Waste, Napalm Death, Sick Of It All, Take Offense
# - with Eluveitie, Ensiferum

(Photo - Gaëlle Beri)