The Concert Series - Jessie Reyez
The Concert Series - Jessie Reyez
BY Kelsey Sheppard
Jessie Reyez is a Canadian singer-songwriter born to Colombian immigrant parents. She’s a pint-sized powerhouse whose music centers on girl power and self-protection, pairing dark emotional energy with a pop sensibility built on contrast.
She arrived onto the scene around the same time as artists like Billie Eilish, and while her single “Figures” cracked the Billboard Top 100 in Canada, she hasn’t experienced the same level of mainstream success in the United States. Still, her R&B-leaning sound and room-filling voice make her impossible to ignore — a huge personality packed into a tiny frame, and an absolute delight to see live.
Mixologist Arika Section and I saw Jessie in concert last summer. Jessie collected bras on her mic stand, cracked jokes, shared anecdotes, and maybe even made me cry. What makes her shows so special is how endearing she is: humble, grateful, and generous with her appreciation for the audience. Even when opening for stars like Billie Eilish and Sam Smith, she never forgets to thank the crowd in front of her. She is also known to bring her parents out on stage.
That warmth also makes it frustrating that she hasn’t reached the same commercial heights as some of her contemporaries. Maybe it’s because early in her career she rejected conventional pop imagery, or because she refused to bend her morals to get ahead — a struggle that’s become subject matter in her work. It may also be because she doesn’t sit neatly in a single genre, moving fluidly between R&B, soul, and pop.
Jessie Reyez built her career slowly from the ground up, engaging directly with fans and running her own social media. Her following may be small, but it’s cult-like. She's not just a powerhouse singer; she has a razor-sharp mind and writes poetry too. She recently released her second book of poetry, "The People's Purge," a collection of in-the-moment poems. It is a collection of in-the-moment poems inspired by prompts from her fans.
Should you choose to check Jessie out, I highly recommend seeing her live. She is one of the few artists whom I consider to be better in person.
