Quebec rock duo Angine de Poitrine wins 2026 Polaris Music Prize

The out-of-this-world Quebec rock duo Angine de Poitrine has taken home the 2026 Polaris Music Prize, adding more accolades to their breakout year.

The self-proclaimed “space-time voyagers” Klek and Khn received the award, along with $30,000, for their second album, Vol. II.

The Saguenay, Que. band, known for their black-and-white polka dot outfits, masks, and elongated noses, took the stage at Toronto’s Massey Hall to accept the award.

The duo prefers to remain anonymous, often speaking in a series of chirps and squeaks. But an acceptance speech was made by their manager, Sébastien Collin, who thanked the Polaris Music Prize for recognizing their “weird and complex” music.

“I also feel that they’re kind of proud that it’s more an artistic prize, more than marketing or something about statistics. It’s about music,” he said.

Angine de Poitrine also took home the $10,000 song prize for their hit “Fabienk,” becoming the first band to take home both awards since the song prize was announced last year.

The band’s “cardboard anti-arena instrumental rock” sound went viral in February after Seattle’s KEXP shared a clip of their set.

Klek and Khn then broke attendance records with tens of thousands of fans attending their free concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival in June.

A song from the duo was also featured in an NFL social media campaign.

That was only part of the band’s busy summer. They opened for Jack White at RBC Amphitheatre in Toronto before headlining one of three of their own shows in the city, and then continuing their whirlwind tour in the U.S., Japan, the Netherlands, and the U.K.

Show dates listed on the band’s website for the remainder of the year are mostly sold out, including in cities such as London, Paris, and Los Angeles.

Angine de Poitrine beat out nine other acts to win the Polaris prize, which was selected by a voting pool instead of an 11-person jury as in previous years.

Other nominees included folk artist Charlotte Cornfield, indie pop duo Bibi Club, and singer-songwriter Beverly Glenn-Copeland.