When Kelsey Wilson of Wild Child walked onstage, barefoot and holding her violin, I thought to myself, “this makes sense.” Wild Child has this playful energy in its music—even in the slower, sadder songs—that makes the listener want to move along to it. The electricity within the seven-piece band permeated the Duck Room of Blueberry Hill, sweeping the audience up with it.

But before Wild Child came out, the audience was treated to the musical stylings of multi-instrumentalist Stelth Ulvang. Ulvang—who played piano on tour for The Lumineers—opened the show with a set varying from slow and somber to lively and upbeat. Supported by his Fetching Band, Stelth himself bounced between the guitar and keyboard.

Ulvang’s music covers all aspects of folk, he demonstrated incredible range and variety. His music kept the audience engaged and his set seemed to fly by. And after a short break, Wild Child came on.

Wild Child, a small orchestra as much as it is a band, is driven by its strings. Sadie Wolfe’s cello added a set of pulling sounds to the background of the band’s songs, Alexander Beggins’ use of the ukulele created a light rhythm and Wilson’s violin added a beautiful melody on top of what already was there. That being said, the horns of Wild Child are just as impressive as their strings. The piercing trombone of Cody Ackers and trumpet of Matt Bradshaw added beautiful accents to the sound of the band. And throughout all of these flourishes and melodies, the base of Wild Child’s music—Tom Myers on drums and Tyler Osmond on bass—created a strong platform for all of the elements.

Suffice it to say that Wild Child has incredible sonic depth and rapport. The group performed many of the songs off their recent album, “Expectations,” as well as some of their older hits and closed with my personal favorite, “Crazy Bird.” “Expectations” is Wild Child’s most ambitious album to date, and shows a wild range: From fast, loud songs like “Expectations” to slow, somber songs like “Sinking Ship,” the album covers all sorts of sounds. This range transferred well to their live set.

At one point Beggins and Wilson dismissed the rest of the band and the core of Wild Child performed a handful of songs together. Both with and without the full group, the show felt incredibly intimate. The members of Wild Child were constantly exchanging looks and smiles with each other and with the audience, and the audience kept swaying and dancing to Wild Child’s music as the whole venue was filled with sound.

Since the release of “Expectations,” Wild Child has seen a large boost in popularity. Ulvang, who accompanied The Lumineers the last time he played Blueberry Hill, said that we should look out for Wild Child coming back to St. Louis soon, but playing at Chaifetz Area.