Bahia Pierce

While you could hardly argue that jazz is well represented at the NXNE festival, it did make a captivating appearance in the sweet, sultry vocal stylings of Montreal’s Bahia Pierce, who slipped in a barebones voice-and-guitar showing at Toronto jazz haven the Rex. Singing in a style that remembers a tamer, jazzier Beth Orton, Pierce crossed a broad catalogue of jazz standards, pop rock hits, and even bossa nova, with standouts coming in a swinging offering of the Kinks’ "Sunny Afternoon” and the Ary Barroso classic "É Luxo Só.” Look for this girl to be making some serious moves in the near future.