Let’s get this out of the way: Solange is not Beyoncé. But she doesn’t have to be.

Her sister might be the reigning queen of pop, but during the 50-minute, meticulously crafted set—mic issues aside—Solange showed that she can more than handle the pressure of having to live under her sister’s shadow.

Stepping on stage with fabulously coiffed hair while dressed to the nines, it was all business from the younger Knowles. Solange kicked into material from her celebrated EP, burning through highlights “Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work” and “Don’t Let Me Down”. After working through some of the aforementioned mic issues, she turned to some of her older hits like “T.O.N.Y.” and a rapturous version of Selena’s “I Could Fall In Love”, but the material from True guided the night.

Leading up to the EP’s release in November, there’s been a bit of sonic makeover from Solange. She left her major label. She started showing up at Grizzly Bear and Dirty Projectors shows (True was released on Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor’s label, Terrible Records). She released a wonderful cover of 2009 summer anthem “Stillness Is The Move” and collaborated with of Montreal.

Those aural changes can be found all over True—a bite-sized, slick R&B record full of intelligent pop songs about love gone wrong glossed in hand-claps, sparkling synths and joyous yelps (seriously, the yelps in “Losing You” are fantastic). Much like the record itself, Solange’s show last night had a palpable sense of restraint. For an artist who has multiple full-lengths and EPs, she could have easily gone for another hour, but chose to keep it short.

While a substantial amount of the crowd knew her older material—she made a point to mention the fans up front who knew every word to “Crush”—the audience was just more receptive to True favorites “Lovers In The Parking Lot”, “Bad Girls” and closer “Losing You”.

If last night’s performance was an indicator along with announced mid-level slots on summer festival lineups, Solange will not have to wait long before she’s gracing larger stages. But first she’s going to dominate her second night at The Black Cat next Wednesday.

Set List:

Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work
Don’t Let Me Down
T.O.N.Y.
Bad Girls
I Could Fall In Love (Selena Cover)
Look Good With Trouble
Locked In Closets
Crush
Cosmic Journey
Lovers In The Parking Lot
Losing You
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Sandcastle Disco