While the majority of the University of Massachusetts campus might have been jamming to Phish this past Saturday, singer and songwriter Josh Ritter pulled quite a crowd for his performance at the Calvin Theater in Northampton.

Ritter and the Royal City Band wowed concertgoers with infectious theatrics and feel-good tunes. Not a single foot seemed to resist tapping out the contagious rhythms, and, by the end of the evening, no one bothered to try.

Northampton’s own Winterpills opened the show. “We’re from right here,” said singer and guitarist, Philip Price, pointing to the stage where he was standing. The local heroes performed a short set featuring several songs off of their recent EP, “Tuxedo of Ashes,” including the title track.

 In the style of folk greats Elliott Smith and Simon and Garfunkel, the Winterpills play heavily on the power of the softer side of music. Says Price on the band’s influence, “Before Winterpills formed I actually played in a much harder rock band and I think after I heard Elliott Smith, he gave me some sort of permission to go quieter. There was a lot of power in the quieter music. More power.”

“Anxious Decoder,” a track off the new EP was a standout of the set, featuring the shining male-female harmonies that make the band so easy on the ears.

Gracious as always, vocalist Flora Reed stopped by the merchandise booth upstairs to distribute copies of the EP and greet fans and friends alike.

Ritter’s portion of the night began with a whispering acoustic rendition of “Idaho,” about the songwriter’s birthplace. Sans amplifier, the guitar was lost to an almost a cappella performance by the songwriter. A still-antsy audience strained to hear the delicate chords, making the melodic vocals even more beautiful. The stage was equally sparse, bearing only the band and a set of giant light bulb-like objects that rhythmically lit with the music.  

Ritter literally jumped from his quiet beginnings to rock star-mode in an instant, banging out rollicking renditions of his hits, “Rumors” and “Wolves.”

“Change of Time,” off of Ritter’s latest album, “So Runs the World Away,” came as an early crowd favorite in the set. Without the interference of studio production, the song stood on its own two feet quite beautifully in the live setting. Ritter’s light, acoustic strumming was flawless.

Throughout the night, there was a lot of talk between the lighting engineers and the songwriter. The banter began innocently, with Ritter asking for some “ancient-Egyptian” style lighting for his song “The Curse.” He nodded his approval as the piano fell into place against his earnest lyrics.

Midway through the evening, Ritter beckoned again to the lighting engineers, this time prompting them to kill the lights completely. Once the theater was completely black, Ritter began “In the Dark,” shouting, “Please don’t leave me in the dark!” At the end of the song, he called for a “slow sunrise,” which the lighting team did not catch on to until the last minute.

Throughout the night, the songwriter could not take his eyes off of the lights that lined the rows of seats in the concert hall. “It’s like a runway,” laughed Ritter. “I’d like to roll a keg down it.”

“Lantern,” a huge hit with the crowd, again played on Ritter’s call for light. “Hold it high for me,” he sang to the sea of glow sticks, cell phones and lighters.

 Treating an audience to some humor, Ritter revealed a new tune, “Sir Galahad,” about the angel Gabriel and the knight of the round table. The simple, acoustic tune told the laugh-out-loud tale of Galahad’s questionable sexuality and the sacrifices the knight would have to make to get to heaven (no more nights with lonely stable boys).

Ritter finally broke through to the surprisingly reserved crowd with “Kathleen,” a love song of epic proportions. Until this point in the show, the majority had remained seated and silent, taking in the music, but not participating. As if the entire night had led up to that one moment, the concert hall erupted in song.

Ritter ended the performance with some high-spirited and fast-paced Americana tunes, including, “Harrisburg,” “To the Dogs or Whoever,” and a rocking rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil.” Bringing the entire audience to their feet, he swayed the formerly uptight room to dance.

Ritter is a singer, a guitarist, a songwriter and an entertainer. Before anything else, however, he is a storyteller. His performance this past Saturday cemented his status as one of the great living songwriters.

Angela Stasiowski can be reached at [email protected].