Photos: Indie-folk artist Faye Webster charmed Orlando’s House of Blues with a sold-out show

As part of her latest tour that kicked off in St. Petersburg only a few days prior, indie-folk artist Faye Webster dazzled a sold-out Orlando audience with a playful yet deliciously sweet set of some of her biggest hits.

And when we say sold out, we mean sold out. The venue, jam-packed less than half an hour after the doors opened, was filled wall-to-wall with excited fans anxiously anticipating spending the next few hours with the musical talents of Miss Webster.

Opening for Webster until her San Diego stop in mid-April is Upchuck, an inventive alternative punk band that, like Webster, has roots in Atlanta, but provided a stark contrast to the mellow tunes that fans may have expected due to Webster’s own easygoing discography. Upchuck's set got the audience jumping, screaming and head-bumping along almost instantaneously — the five-piece group came onstage with an energy so electric you couldn’t help but be enthralled by their performance.

Soon after, Webster emerged onstage in a wash of royal blue lighting, a color prominent on the cover of her latest album, Underdressed at the Symphony, and throughout the recent years of her aesthetic presentation both online and on tour.

Beginning with the popular “But Not Kiss,” Webster dove straight into performing some of her greatest and most beloved tracks, including “Better Distractions,” “Kind Of,” “Right Side of My Neck” and “A Dream With a Baseball Player.” Fans sang along loudly and each new song was met with an eruption of cheers once the audience caught on to what track was playing next.

Part of the reason Webster has found herself such a dedicated following is the way her inspiration spans across a vast range of genres, stretching between the more country-twang side of her discography to her songs inspired by her hometown symphony back in Atlanta. A crowd favorite, “Jonny” (followed by the spoken-word “Jonny [Reprise]”), leaned heavily into these classical elements, with Webster on piano accompanying her own gentle vocals.

As a unique interlude to the rest of her set, Webster then covered the theme for Pokemon’s Eterna City, a soothing, almost lullaby-esque choice that fit aptly within her own musical styling. Webster’s connection to comfort video games is a source of inspiration that can be seen throughout her career — for example, on previous tours, she has covered popular songs from the game series Animal Crossing.

During the show, the backdrop showcased almost-Renaissance-like imagery of Webster atop a mountain, with the environment around her changing depending on the energy of each song. For some it was snowing, raining, or even twinkling with stars and a large moon. The changing background mirrored the playfulness of the set and of Webster’s energy.

The set proved to be quite short, despite Webster's lengthy discography, lasting only a little over an hour including a two-song encore with “Feeling Good Today” and her most popular hit (which went viral online), “Kingston.”

Webster’s bio explains that her latest album title, Underdressed at the Symphony, comes from her own occasional visits to the symphony where she likes to lose herself in the crowd, describing it “almost as therapy” for her. This is the exact feeling her performance evoked — comforting, alluring and distinctive. With a voice and charm as comforting as a warm hug, is there anything that can’t be fixed by hearing Faye Webster sing live? We don’t think so.