Tia Gostelow’s long-awaited album tour of Chrysalis finally started at the Solbar in Maroochydore last Thursday – and was worth the wait.

Tia’s set list consisted of 17 tracks, including songs from Chrysalis, her debut album Thick Skin, and many more unexpected treats throughout the night. “This tour has been a long time in the works, but it’s finally here,” she declared.

After her initial songs, she played Bleak and, unlike its name, Tia was really energetic and comfortable with performing. This could have been a challenge as the pandemic has put a pause on live performances for every artist.

After Hunger, one of her earliest songs about high school bullies, she announced the next few songs would be the slow part of the set. This included Giants, where she whipped out her acoustic guitar to assist her band while singing sweet melodies, an acoustic version of the usually upbeat song, Wonder, and Home, which she produced on Garage Band.

Later she played an unreleased song for the crowd, called Dumb and Numb. It had fun drumbeats and cymbal crashes, and bouncy lyrics, which will hopefully be released on streaming platforms soon. She then performed Strangers and after the first verse and chorus, special guest Tay Oskee came on stage as a surprise, to perform Lanks’ parts of the well-known banger.

A few songs later there was another special guest during her lively cover of the popular British party anthem, Levitating by Dua Lipa, which was Sahara Beck, her starting act.

Not only was Tia a standout, but Beck set the precedent for the rest of the night. Sahara came out in a glitter body suit, with glitter boots to complete the look, while her voice sparkled as much as she did.

Her strong vocals vibrated throughout the bar, hitting every high and low note with ease, showcasing her amazing depth and breadth of her vocal range. The highlights of her set had to be her impressive acapella intro to Nothing Wrong with That, which made the hairs on my arm stand up, and the sick drum solo towards the end of Queen of Hearts.

Sahara proved why she was a great choice for Tia’s starting act for the Chrysalis tour. In Levitating, Sahara and Tia were having a lot of fun dancing and singing this irresistibly catchy tune, making it hard not to sing along.

While Sahara was still on stage with Tia, they announced they were releasing a single with Hope D, another home grown Aussie ensemble, coming soon.

Tia finished the set with a personal favourite, Always, and her vocals in it – and every other song in her set – were nothing short of showstopping.

If you get a chance to see her live, you would be extremely lucky to experience a night filled with silky smooth love songs, unforgettable tunes, and all-round good vibes.