Neqotkuk's Jeremy Dutcher 1st double-winner of prestigious Polaris Music Prize

When asked how it feels to be the first artist to win the Polaris Prize twice, Jeremy Dutcher had a somewhat subdued response.

"You know, I've been worse," the 33-year-old said, as a smile grew across his face.

"I'm having a really good time."

Dutcher won the award, given annually to a Canadian full-length recording based on artistic merit, for his 2023 album Motewolonuwok. Itcomes with a $50,000 prize.

Nobody makes music for the accolades, he said, but beingacknowledged byyour peers "feels good" and the ceremonies were a special night because so many of his supporters were there.

"My parents had driven up from New Brunswick all the way to Toronto. My sweetheart had flown in from Europe and my band and choir was there," said Dutcher.

"It was a really beautiful coming together of my community and my people."

WATCH | How winning the Polaris prize 6 years ago helped Jeremy Dutcher win again:

Jeremy Dutcher wins prestigious Canadian music award again

7 days ago

Duration 2:29

Neqotkuk's Jeremy Dutcher is the first artist to win the Polaris Prize twice, an award given annually to a Canadian full-length recording based on artistic merit, Dutcher received $50,000 for his album Motewolonuwok, which he said he's donating to the Kehkimin Wolastoqey language immersion school in Fredericton.

In an interview on CBC Radio's Q when the album came out, Dutcher described Motewolonuwok as more of a "personal excavation" than his first album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, which had been created around archivalwax recordings of Wolastoqey songs.

While Dutcher said he had wantedto stay fairly faithful to the old recordings to honour his ancestors, he felt he had more creative freedom this time around.

The new album has a lot more English. Dutcher said he wanted to speak to a wider audience.

"Kind of paradoxically, this record was half in English, even though I'm still trying to grapple with language," he said."Trying to figure out what my English voice is was kind of a head scratcher."

The Ten55:00Jeremy Dutcher - Motewolonuwok

On this week's episode of The Ten, Odario Williams play's Jeremy Dutcher's Polaris Shortlisted album Motewolonuwok in full

The titletrack,Motewolonuwok, is derived from archivedaudio from the 1960s of a man fromNeqotkuk First nation, also known as Tobique, where Dutcherisfrom. In it, the mantellsthe story of Motewolonuwok.

"It's talking about those magical people those spirit people. I just love that we have that concept and these ideas that are still resonant within our communities, that are still within our stories and language," he said.

Donating prize money

In comments to reporters after his win, Dutcher said the $50,000 prize would be given to the Kehkimin Wolastoqey language immersion school in Fredericton.

"For me, it's like the most beautiful place," said Dutcher."It's everything that I didn't have as a young person growing up in Fredericton."

The school is run by his mother, Lisa Perley Dutcher, who was at the ceremony.

"Jeremy has a very generous heart," said Perley Dutcher. "He's always supported Kehkimin and the work that we're doing for language revitalization."

What's next?

While Dutcher now has the distinction of being the first, and so far the onlyartist to win the Polaris Prize twice, he doesn't plan on slowing down.

On Wednesday, he's opening for one of his favourite artistsand recent Harvest Music Festival alumn,Feist, in St. Catherine's, Ont.

Live at Massey Hall: Jeremy Dutcher

6 months ago

Duration 44:48

Jeremy Dutcher returns with a new band and groundbreaking music, pushing the boundaries of his distinctive soundscapes. Embark on a deeply personal musical journey with the amazing Jeremy Dutcher.

He's also working on the score for an upcoming Mi'kmawhorror film from Nova Scotia.

In addition to those projects, heplans to keep touring and eventually start work on a third studio album, which could put him in the runningtobecome the first artist to win three Polaris Prizes.

"Maybe we'll go three for three," he said. "Who knows?"