In a haze of smoke and a blaze of floodlights, Lucy Dacus walked out to the microphone at center stage to a frenzy of applause. For real, it was impressively, decidedly electric in The Met Wednesday night.

All who could stand were standing. All who could sing were singing, shouting, joining in on every word. Throughout “Hot & Heavy,” and “Ankles” and “Big Deal,” and pretty much throughout the night. It was an explosion of joy, a cathartic gush of synergy between an artist and her audience, and confirmation of something previously unrealized, at least by me: Lucy Dacus is a star.

Playing alongside Phoebe Bridgers in boygenius, and opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras tour could help with that, exposing this soft-spoken, softly-singing artist to a kind of contact fame. But, really, that ain’t it.

Lucy Dacus is a big deal now. And the vibe all night was love, love, love.

photo by Paige Walter for WXPN

Love for a songwriter whose lyrics blend the blunt with the poignant, the classic with the devastating, the kind of thing you can puzzle over, and revel in. And love for a woman who recently revealed her own love for boygenius bandmate Julian Baker in interview after interview while promoting the gorgeous and pristine new record Forever Is a Feeling. That’s the love that lured Lucy Dacus out to L.A. after calling Philadelphia her home for five years.

Nonetheless, she made an impression on this city: you could see the room hanging on every chorus, every verse, every witty aside. Hell, two shadowy shapes in the cheap seats apparently got engaged halfway through her set.

And this city made an impression on Lucy Dacus. See the new missing-you ode “Modigliani,” inspired by a trip to the Barnes Museum. And see also Dacus’s rather stunning and versatile stage backdrop, its idiosyncratically arranged TV screens purposely recalling the Barnes itself. These frames displayed everything from works of art, to starscapes to rolling thunderclouds. It was an impressive scene-setter that let the show switch moods seamlessly. And a meaningful wink at Philadelphians.

Lucy Dacus | photo by Paige Walter for WXPN

The fancy blue couch was a nice touch too, lugged out for an intimate, stripped-down mid-show mini-set featuring the brand new “Bullseye” (with opener Katie Gavin singing the Hozier half) and a midtempo take on old favorite, “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore.”

Remember when that was a rock song? Back then Dacus’s loud and lovely debut No Burden earned Magnet Magazine’s Album of the Year in 2016, and she seemed for all the world like the next big thing in the small world indie rock.

Now look at her. Selling out opera houses. Doing TV interviews. Running the show and commanding the crowd, not just with singing and songwriting chops, but with a personal, humble approach to showmanship.

And, just to prove she can still get loud when she wants to, Dacus closed out the show with gradually explosive post-breakup anthem “Night Shift” which brought the house down.

jasmine.4.t | photo by Paige Walter for WXPN

Opening the show was British rocker Jasmine.4.T, a trans Manchester singer-guitarist who played endearing lo-fi rock songs that seemed to resonate more and more as the room was filling up. Between songs, she shook her head at the UK supreme court’s ruling that trans women aren’t women. Wall to wall with allies, the crowd screamed messages of love for Jasmine.4.T, along with some choice words for TERFs like J.K. Rowling.

Katie Gavin | photo by Paige Walter for WXPN

Second up was the aforementioned Katie Gavin, also of the band MUNA, who seemed delightfully surprised by the joyous, singalong mood at the Met. “How many of you know who I am?” she asked. The response was uproarious. We’d done our homework. Now you do yours and check out her song “Inconsolable.”

Lucy Dacus’ tour continues Friday night, April 18th, at The Anthem in Washington D.C., then spends the next several months making its way around the country. Lucy and band will be back in Philadelphia on July 25th for the Make The World Better benefit concert at FDR Park; full dates and ticket information can be found at her website.

Dawes: “When My Time Comes” (XPoNential Music Festival – 2019)