As soon as the six members of The Chieftains stepped onto the Stephens Auditorium stage Monday night, the fun began.

Harpist Derek Bell staggered in with the help of two stage hands, pretending to be a wizened old man, as Paddy Moloney, the group’s leader, joked with the full-house audience in his Irish brogue.

And the group hadn’t started playing yet.

The music, a special blend of traditional and modern Gaelic themes, was even better.

The multi-layered textures of sound were the only constant through every tune The Chieftains played, as song after song featured a different solo performer.

Bodhr n (a drum called “the heartbeat of Irish music”) player Kevin Conneff stole the show whenever he put down his drum and stepped to the microphone to sing.

On “The Dark-Eyed Gypsies,” Conneff’s reedy voice was the perfect complement to Moloney’s flageolet (a tin whistle), Bell’s harp, Matt Molloy’s flute and Martin Fay and Sean Keane’s fiddles.

His melancholy vocals were also the best part of a three-ballad medley that was accompanied by a wonderful 12-person guest choir from Ames High School.

Getting a well-deserved chance to show off was Molloy, who kicked off the second half of the performance with a frenetic flute flourish.

He flowed right from a simple warm-up of scales to a breath-taking series of runs and arpeggios that finished at a pace of almost 10 notes per second.

As Molloy dropped his flute and gasped for breath, Moloney cracked, “Not bad,” to the laughter of the other players.

Humor was also a part of a piano solo by Bell. During the last tune before the encore, he broke from his usual melodic minor chords into a classical music theme. Then, to the amusement of everyone in the auditorium, launched into the ragtime standard “Maple Leaf Rag.”

The applause that followed was a reflection of how good the entire show was, and Moloney “reluctantly” agreed to play an encore.

“No homes to go to, as usual,” he said sarcastically.

Other spicy parts of the show were four guest artists — two Irish dancers, guitarist Jesse Cook and a talented Portuguese vocalist.

The dancers kicked up a storm with their impeccable rhythm and mile-wide smiles, and Cook taxed his strings during a furiously-strummed solo that finished on the highest note possible.

Providing the icing on the cake was an impromptu “jam session” featuring nine area musicians, who came onstage for an encore with The Chieftains. The final tune ended with a joyous stomp by the dancers that was just one of the many blissful moments of the night.