Arcade Fire performing live at Hyde Park in London. (Carsten Windhorst/WENN.com)

And then there were 10.

Polaris Music Prize organizers unveiled their short list of nominees for this year's award on Wednesday in Toronto. It includes everyone from Grammy winners Arcade Fire to veteran singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith and up-and-coming urban-music phenom The Weeknd. Other artists on the bill include gothy songstress Austra, art-rockers Braids, garage-rockers Galaxie, New Pornographer singer-guitarist Dan Bejar’s solo band Destroyer, orch-popsters Hey Rosetta!, horn player Colin Stetson and gothic alt-folkies Timber Timbre.

The Polaris Prize aims to reward the best Canadian album of the year on artistic merit alone, without regard to commercial considerations.

But as always, the bulk of the nominees consist of hipster-friendly artists from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, clearly reflecting the jury’s regional imbalance and stylistic preferences.

This year’s winner will be determined by a grand jury on Sept. 19 at a gala in Toronto. They’ll get a cheque for $30,000, up from $20,000 in past years. Also new this year: All artists on the short list get $2,000.

Last year's winner was Monteal indie-rock band Karkwa.

The 2011 Polaris Short List:

Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

Austra, Feel It Break

Braids, Native Speaker

Destroyer, Kaputt

Galaxie, Tigre et Diesel

Hey Rosetta!, Seeds

Ron Sexsmith, Long Player, Late Bloomer

Colin Stetson, New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges Timber Timbre, Creep On Creepin’ On The Weeknd, House of Balloons