“I know you’re not supposed to take pictures at this show,” Andrew Combs said at Sanders Theatre on Friday night. “But this room is so beautiful and my mother worries about how I make a living. So maybe take a picture and tag me in it.” As far as I could tell, folks in the crowd laughed, but still no one reached for their phones. It was that kind of night: the audience came to listen attentively and the artists filled a vast space with joyful noise.

It’s not an easy thing to open solo for a “supergroup” but Combs was up to the task. He has an easy, self-deprecating way about him that endeared him to the crowd; but it was his soaring voice and rich guitar playing that kept them locked in for his set. “Strange Bird,” off his 2015 album, All These Dreams, and “Hazel,” from his most recent album, Canyons of My Mind, were both highlights, as they showcased the full range of his vocals. He can bring to mind Jim Croce in one moment and Jason Isbell in the next; but as you’re making these comparisons, you come to understand he is doing something all his own. There really just aren’t many people who can sing powerfully at the top of their range, and Combs doesn’t lose a thing. He performed surrounded by the various instruments set up for the headliners and it made me wonder a bit about how rich these songs would be performed with a full band. But I was also glad to get the chance to hear them stripped down to their essence, with Combs fully committed to every note.

Their understanding of when to harmonize and when to sing in unison or solo is striking. And I feel like the vocal moments that really knocked me out were mostly when they sang solo and just let loose: Jarosz on “Walking Back to Georgia,” a Jim Croce tune and Watkins singing acapella at the start of Gillian Welch’s song, “One Hundred Miles” are moments that will stay with me for a long time.

“Little Lies,” the first original song they released last year, was stunning. Because they have just one album, there was plenty of room for more covers. John Hiatt’s “Crossing Muddy Waters,” was fantastic and it was fun to hear their version of “Send My Love (To Your New Lover),” which Sarah Jarosz introduced by saying, “We’re going to play an old-timey number from across the pond.” But I was slack-jawed by their version of “Hannah Hunt” by Vampire Weekend. They said that years ago they’d been touring around listening constantly to Modern Vampires of the City and that Jarosz had figured out the arrangement. Their version is better than the original. It was their first encore number, which they played around one mic before leaving us with the instrumental “Waitsfield” and bluegrass classic, “Lord Lead Me On.” On a cold, windy night outside, it felt pretty special to be in a very still room, surrounded by warm sounds.