Luhrs Auditorium filled up well in advance of the 8 p.m. start of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) show Saturday night. The ever cheerful volunteers helped the steady stream of patrons to their seats as the sound system played classic country and country-rock songs.

The March 28 show was a triumphant return for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The band last appeared at the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts center in October of 2013.

The opening act was JD and the Straight Shot. They may not yet be familiar to all, but a lot of people have heard their music. The song “Hard to Find” was in the Bill Murray movie “St. Vincent,” and the band has toured with The Allman Brothers Band and The Eagles. Fans of the AMC TV show, “Hell on Wheels” recognized the song “Can’t Make Tears.”

It was a five-piece band — a double bass, a fiddle player and three guitars — formed in 2001. Everybody but the bassist sang, and the vocals shined when they performed “White Bird” by It’s a Beautiful Day, and Little Feat’s “Let it Roll,” which ended their part of the show.

After a brief intermission, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band took the stage for a nearly two-hour performance. The band’s hits include “Mr. Bojangles,” “Bless the Broken Road” and “Fishin’ in the Dark.” The latter two were also hits for Rascal Flatts.

Band founders, Jeff Hanna and Jimmy Fadden, were on guitars and drums. Keyboardist Bob Carpenter also sang, and came up front to sing a few songs. John McEuen, who replaced Jackson Browne in 1966, did not sing, but his performances on fiddle, guitar, lap steel and banjo provided some of the show’s best music and humorous moments. Although music has worked out quite well for McKuen, standup could certainly be Plan B for him.

NGDB also covered some hits by other artists, but put their own recognizable stamp on them. The Beach Boys’ “Coconut Grove,” Michael Nesmith’s (from the band the Monkees) “Some of Shelley’s Blues,” and the American classic “Jambalaya (Down on the Bayou)” all got the NGDB treatment, to the delight of the audience.

Jimmy Fadden sang and played harmonica on “Goin’ up the Country,” a huge hit by Canned Heat, who performed it at Woodstock. The band then performed “Working Man,” which Fadden wrote after touring with Willie Nelson for Farm Aid ’85.

JD and the Straight Shot returned to the stage and joined NGDB for the encore. The bands performed “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” a well-known folk song. Members of both groups took turns singing, and McKuen and JD’s fiddle player, Erin Slaver, played some more amazing solos.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is sure to return to the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center in the future. In the meantime, plenty of other fantastic acts are already scheduled. You can check out upcoming shows at luhrscenter.com.

Links to JD and the Straight Shot and NGDB are: http://www.nittygritty.com and http://www.thestraightshotmusic.com/

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