When Spring Concert tickets went on sale last month, hundreds of students lined the sidewalks outside the Mullins Center in anticipation of perhaps one of the best shows in recent years.

With few remaining tickets available, thousands filled the multi-purpose arena for the annual concert – hosted by the University Programming Council (UPC) – on Sunday night as a stacked lineup of Uncle Joel’s Comb, Big K.R.I.T., Third Eye Blind and J. Cole took center stage.

And for those that attended, it can be said that they got their money’s worth.

Backed by a DJ, drummer and guitarist, J. Cole started off with a cut off his debut album, “Dollar and a Dream III,” as the Fayetteville, N.C., rapper induced the crowd into a coma of rhymes.

He introduced his fans to a “Cole World” before taking off the black sweatshirt he was donning. Sporting a chain and fresh white and black Jordan sneakers, Cole ripped a cut from his protégé Jay-Z’s “Blueprint 3” album with his feature verse on “A Star Is Born” before playing one of his most played singles, “Who Dat,” as he rocked side to side on the stage with an excess of energy.

Cole then paid an ode to his haters with “Blow Up” before rhyming his feature verse from Miguel’s “All I Want Is You” and then promptly got “Higher” as the crowd themselves did the same by lighting up.

Cole saluted his fans that have been following him since the beginning of his career, and urged those who had been to rock with him to “Lights Please,” a track that first appeared on his “The Warm Up” mixtape before being re-mastered for his debut album. With that, he got into his newest hit, “Grew Up Fast,” before playing “Nobody’s Perfect” and then allowing his guitarist to get a piece of fame with a solo.

He slowed things up, playing one of his newer hits, “Daddy’s Little Girl,” before getting into arguably his most emotional track, “Lost Ones.” After a few more tracks off “Sideline Story,” Cole left the stage for a few minutes, leaving the crowd suddenly confused where their hero went off to. But without disappointment, Cole returned to the stage donning a UMass crewneck sweatshirt as he played his radio trademark “Work Out” before tossing the sweatshirt into the crowd.

Cole then stepped to the side for a few moments to raise the spotlight on the DJ behind him, who scratched the turntables like a true professional as he remixed “Dance (A$$),” much to the delight of a dance-hungry crowd before Cole took back over and rapped his verse from Beyonce’s “Party.”

Finishing off the set, Cole returned back to his debut album, asking if he could hit it “In the Morning” before ending the night with “Can’t Get Enough,” which seemed to be a common theme of the night. Cole exited the stage at about 11:30 p.m. to a chorus of cheers from a still filled Mullins Center as the band played out a number to finish it off.

For better or worse, J. Cole effectively heated up the Mullins Center.

Before J. Cole took the stage, arguably the most anticipated act of the night rocked Mullins. With their band’s name bolded in big letters on the curtain behind them, Third Eye Blind’s entrance released hysteria throughout the Mullins Center.

The band reached far and wide throughout its storied catalog, from old hits to new, as it rocked its raucous audience in front of them. Frontman Stephan Jenkins, donning a black hoodie, walked around the stage belting hit after hit as fans jumped and sang along with him.

Third Eye Blind – which was playing a solo show and was not on tour – seemed to engage with the rhythms of its audience pretty well. Jenkins tried to get interactive with the crowd by urging all to turn to someone they didn’t know and telling them to have a beautiful night, but it wasn’t until “Jumper” started playing that the crowd really got into it.

With the words “I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend” uttered through the microphone, the crowd released into a state of hysteria, jumping up and down seemingly in unison as they belted the lyrics out.

After a bit of a guitar and drum solo, they slowed things down with “Slow Motion,” a song that was originally released only instrumentally because of its violent lyrics. After a few more songs, the band finished with one of its most famous releases, “Semi-Charmed Life,” sending the crowd to its feet again while they lost their lungs singing along.

Unexpectedly, the band dropped its rhythms and picked up on a cover of “Ride Wit Me” by Nelly, presumably to appease to its rap-favoring audience. Jenkins ended with the “Semi-Charmed Life” lyrics and urged the fans again to have a beautiful night before he and his band mates left the stage for good, ending yet another chapter in the group’s storied legacy.

But before Third Eye Blind and J.Cole sparked the audience, there were two earlier acts that got things off to a solid start.

While many were not aware of whom exactly Big K.R.I.T. was before the show, they were introduced emphatically at about 7:45 p.m. when he took over the stage.

K.R.I.T. had a certain 1990’s, classic and old school hip-hop vibe that was apparent within his lyrics and style. Sporting a white tank top, red cap and a chain with his home state Mississippi outlined on it, the southern lyricist rapped cuts mostly off of his latest projects, both mixtapes called “4EvaNaDay” and “Return of 4eva.”

He began his set with arguably the most popular song of his “4EvaNaDay” project  called “Boobie Miles,” urging the crowd that “when your numbers called, you better give you all” before diving into the “R4 Theme Song.”

After speaking to the crowd for a few moments, K.R.I.T. got into the theme song from the “4EvaNaDay” mixtape, with the constant repeating of the word “day” pounding at the same beat of the thunderous bass accompanying the artist on stage.

He slowed things down, at least for a second, to ask the crowd to get even louder than before as he eased into “Me and My Old School” and “My Sub.” K.R.I.T. then motioned for the crowd to do their best driving imitations with “Rotation,” as the lyrics “I’m just rotating my tires” pierced the arena as fans circled their hands around as if they were driving.

Stopping again to talk to the crowd, K.R.I.T. asked the smokers and drinkers in attendance to raise their voices before explaining how he gets “f***ed up” with his cut “Moon and Stars” and then used that momentum and carried it into his “Glass House.”

He ended his act with his two biggest hits, “Hometown Hero” and “Country S***,” before exiting the stage, leaving behind cheers from a still late-arriving crowd. While it was still sparse, there’s no doubt he earned at least a few more fans than before.

Uncle Joel’s Comb – which opened the show and was the winner of UPC’s Battle of the Bands – was anything but the sparse crowd may have expected, considering not many of them seemed to know they would be making an appearance.

But the six-man team quickly but surely let its crowd feel their presence, playing a few groovy tunes that could only be really described in one word: happy. With a duo of trumpet players in addition to its guitarists and drummer, the band sent out positive vibes that effectively encapsulated its music genre. Throughout the set, band members were seen dancing all across the stage and excitedly smiling at each other as if they had just won the lottery.

Although a short set, Uncle Joel’s Comb got the most out of its opportunity, playing a five-song set that included songs from its only album, “That Creepy Uncle.”

They played songs like “Big Man On Campus” before apologizing to fanatics of harder music with “Sorry, We’re Not Hardcore.” The group finished things off with “Paul’s Jam (I Don’t Know Where I Am),” in which the band got the crowd into it by dropping the instrumentals and singing the lyrics “I don’t know where I am” a cappella style with an audience that probably included some that actually didn’t.

The band exited the stage to cheers, as the crowd seemed to be ready immediately for the next act, but was forced to wait a 20-minute intermission.

Doors opened at 6 p.m. as the crowd slowly started to fill the arena. With general admission concert-goers still filing into their seats in the arena bowl and those lucky enough to snag a floor ticket making their way inside, ska band Uncle Joel’s Comb got things started at precisely 7 p.m.

Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected].