Josh Ritter radiates joy when he performs. He bounced onto the stage at a sold-out Thalia Hall on Friday evening at the start of his show. A smile spread across his face as he told the audience: "I am Soooo happy to be here!" and launched into "Monster Ballads."

That joy never left him during his two-hour performance. We felt it when he played love songs ("Strangers"), frantic songs ("To the Dogs or Whoever"), dark songs ("Honeydew, No Light"), Anthems ("Wild Ways"), songs of lot love ("Truth Is a Dimension, Both Invisible and Blinding"), cover songs ("Rhythm of My Heart") and hymns ("The Throne").

His range was as impressive as his backing band, The Royal City Band, which included his longtime bassist, Zack Hickman, and the excellent pianist, Sam Kassirer. Each of them shared the stage with Josh in accompaniment, while the rest of the band took a break.

Multiple times during the evening, Josh told the audience, "Thank you soo much!" In return, we thanked him. We too were Soooo happy to be there!