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Assuming you don't ACTUALLY want to be good at unarmed combat (which would be fiddly to get to work), there are (loosely) three ways to go;
1; Melee Bard, you tend use a two handed weapon, usually long spear (pretty much the best option unless you're a half Orc or something). Grab Arcane Strike at first level, Power Attack at third and hit things for decent damage whilst being better at skills and have a lot more utility than a martial. You want 16+ STR and 14 ish in CON, CHA and DEX. For spells, look for buffs and out of combat utility first, as you plan on dealing damage in combat.
2; Controller Bard, you focus on using spells in combat, maybe backed up with a little tripping from a whip. For feats, Spell Focus (Enchantment) isn't bad, or just Lingering Performance at first level, maybe Improved Trip at third. 18 ish CHA and decent STR DEX and CON will give you the spell DCs you need and let you play with tripping (grab a whip). Grab some good debuffs, as well. Sleep is fabulous at low levels, Hidious Laughter also isn't bad. Glitter dust once you get a bit higher.
3; Archer Bard, probably the "best" form of bard, as you can be almost as good as a full martial archer and not loose a lot of bard stuff. Grab Point Blank Shot at first level, Precise Shot at Third, Rapid Shot at fifth, then Deadly Aim etc. Stats are the same as the Melee bard but swap DEX and STR. Once again, you want buffs and utility over debuffs and damage for spells, but bards get some great early access debuffs, so absolutely grab some for emergencies when you can.
Other stuff: Lingering Performance is fabulous for any build that can fit it. For race, pretty much anything is fine so long as it give a bonus to the primary stay of you're build and doesn't penalise any of its secondary stats.