Emerging from backstage, Mat Musto, also known as Blackbear, greeted the crowd with high fives all across the stage Thursday night at the Maintenance Shop.  

“You might know the words to this first one. If not, that’s cool,” Musto said.

Musto cranked through multiple tracks off of his new album “Deadroses” early on, including “4u” and “Dirty Laundry,” which had most of the crowd dancing.

“This is usually a cool-down part where I usually go back into my dressing room,” Musto said before picking up an acoustic guitar and launching into his song “Idfc.”

While the first half of Blackbear’s set had people dancing non-stop, the second half unfortunately didn’t regather the same energy as the first.

After Blackbear left the stage the crowd chanted for an encore for about 30 seconds before the lights came on, signaling an intermission.

After a 20-minute break, Gallant and his band took the stage and went straight into a laid back cover of Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly.”

Gallant was noticeably more reserved than Blackbear. While the opening act talked to the crowd in between almost every song, Gallant spoke very few times throughout his short, yet impactful performance.

“What’s good, Iowa State?” Gallant said after the first song.

While Gallant didn’t interact with the audience as much as his opening act, he easily made up for it with a dynamic performance and great musicianship.

Gallant’s set had a unique rise and fall that began with more upbeat and playful tunes, like “Jupiter Grayscale,” before spiraling into more dramatic tracks with slow burns like “Open Up.”

While the set switched from single to ballad to some of his lesser-known songs, Gallant’s stunning falsetto remained in the spotlight. Using his voice to punctuate the performance, he soared above a roaring crescendo, just to pull back with the band and deliver soft lines of subtle wordplay.

The backing band also got some time to shine with carefully placed guitar and keyboard solos, complementing the overall tone instead of distracting from it.

The last three songs were by far the highlight of the whole performance. “Open Up” was fueled by an engrossing stop and go beat, while “Talking In Your Sleep” featured an interesting instrumental line with string effects behind the band.

“Weight in Gold” closed the set with a superb vocal performance with Gallant belting out every last word in the final moments while exploding back and forth across the stage.

Gallant left the stage while the band played an instrumental track to end the set as the lights faded out, leaving the Maintenance Shop in darkness.

Gallant’s performance at the Maintenance Shop demonstrated why he is being hailed as one of the biggest artists to watch this year and will easily be a highlight of the fall semester’s lineup.