One Tree Hill starlet Kate Voegele brings spunky charm to The Social

With a smashing combination of class and charm, 22-year-old Kate Voegele lit up The Social on Friday night.

Clad in a fedora hat and plaid shirtdress, with an easy, genuine smile, she's about as punk-rock cute as you get.

But don't let that fool you — Voegele has raw talent, the kind that impressed a sold-out Social a mere three days after the release of her sophomore album, A Fine Mess.

The show opened with a steamy performance from newcomer Brannon Powers, crooning songs from his new five-song EP. Angel Taylor nabbed the next spot in the line-up, playing sweet melodies from her album Love Travels, along with a cover of the Kings of Leon's "Sex on Fire."

Elizabeth Forbes, a Jupiter native who found out she was accepted to UCF the day of the concert, came out to the show mostly to see Taylor.

"I actually got [Taylor's] single from iTunes' free single of the week, and then I heard her on 90210. . . I downloaded her CD and liked it," Forbes said. "She was more energetic than I thought. I thought she was going to be more reserved because her songs are really slow and calm, but she was spunky."

Forbes said that while she didn't know many of Voegele's songs coming in, she was pleasantly surprised by her performance. And although her favorite act of the night was still Taylor, Voegele definitely puts on a better show.

Not that it should surprise anyone. As a key player on one of the CW's most popular TV shows, One Tree Hill, Voegele has had her share of the limelight; but she still manages to keep it real, claiming she loves The Social because it is relaxed and feels like playing in somebody's basement.

The Social is always a good time, but Friday night was unique in its versatility. Although 20-somethings predominantly made up the crowd, older people and even children were scattered throughout — and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Voegele opened her set with a stellar performance of "99 Times," a girl-power, anti-cheaters-and-liars track from Mess.  Peppering in some old songs with the new, Voegele included classic performances of songs from One Tree Hill like "Kindly Unspoken" and "Lift Me Up."

Voegele's likable stage presence hit a snag when she noted how hot it is in Florida, a far cry from her hometown in Ohio.

"This might be a bad night to mention I'm from Cleveland," she said drily.

As the Orlando Magic battled the Cleveland Cavaliers in an Eastern Conference Finals game a few blocks away, Voegele insisted there was no animosity.

"I'm all about the love tonight," she promised. "You guys rock, we're happy to be in Orlando. No matter what the outcome of the game, love all around."

While Voegele was working her charm on stage, interpersonal/organizational communications major and self-proclaimed huge Voegele fan Alexis Calderone was using some charm of her own. 

"We actually didn't have tickets to the show, and there were a million people trying to scalp and there were no people scalping tickets," Calderone said. "We snuck around back to where [Voegele's] tour bus is, and we met her tour manager, and he was like, ‘All right, I'll put you on the list.' So we got in for free."