Making his return to his hometown of the Sutherland Shire, Brendan Maclean opened proceedings with a charming set of piano-driven pop; occasionally accented by guest guitarist Andrew Bennett, formerly of The Dawn Collective. Although it's easy to rattle off influences portrayed through his songs – Ben Folds and the extended Wainwright family immediately come to mind – what's great about Maclean as a performer is how he makes every last note his own. The raw-nerve emotion that comes through, particularly on the more introspective ballads, is something you simply cannot fake. An arresting, honest performer, Maclean certainly knows how to charm and win over an audience, no matter what size.

From a similar school of charm is Sydney-based duo Georgia Fair, albeit slightly more understated. Having honed their craft through significant touring in 2010, the two-piece silence the audience with their perfectly intertwined sound. It's a simple concept: two men, both singers with guitars – but it's what they do with this set up that makes the sound so enthralling. Lead singer Jordan Wilson is the perfect yin to Ben Riley's yang: every soaring vocal is matched with honeyed harmonies, every acoustic strum is matched to perfectly toned electric guitar. They may have recently found themselves experimenting with a full live band, but watching them perform in such an intimate, stripped-back manner truly brings forth their finest qualities.

Despite constant touring and a debut album, In a Shoebox Under the Bed, most people are admittedly only familiar with Nicholas Roy on the back of his catchy single “It's All My Fault”. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the track itself – still a fine display of infectious, folksy crossover pop - and it serves as one of the highlights of the entire evening when it's pulled out mid-set. With that said, if tonight's set proved anything, it's that there is so much more to Roy than that three-minute slice is willing to let on.

Accompanied only by some jazzy drumming, Roy kept things consistent as he moved from more forthright, stomping numbers, to heartfelt waltzes and ballads in seamless transitions. The guy has most everything you could ask for out of this kind of music in the live environment. Amongst his finest qualities are a voice of smoothness and clarity, back-of-the-hand knowledge of his instrument (the piano) with just the right amount of looseness, and an endearingly friendly nature which exuded from between-song banter. If there's any justice, no doubt you'll be hearing plenty more from Roy in years to come – and not just because of that song...