You go to a jazz fest to see jazz acts, right? Well, that was the goal driving from New Hampshire up to Canada for an early July weekend in Montreal. It was as awesome as I expected it to be, but besides jazz, I also stumbled upon a new artist (at least for me) by the name of Noga Erez.

Erez, who hails from Israel, studied jazz piano and also wanted to sing jazz but as she explained on stage that night, and I paraphrase, there were so many other artists better than she was that she decided to change course—one that brought her more towards electronic music with a hip-hop twist. She told the crowd that she always dreamed of playing the Montreal Jazz Fest and here she was. Dressed in a matching red tartan pant suit, she grooved to the electronic drum beat across the stage reminiscent of a young Gwen Stefani back when she fronted No Doubt.

Key tracks in her setlist included the songs End of the Road, Industry Baby, You So Done, Views, Off The Radar, Bark Loud, and her 2022 single Nails. For further listening, check her out on Spotify.