Friday a strong first night for sold-out Ann Arbor Folk Festival

Headliner Iron and Wine (the stage name for singer-songwriter Samuel Beam) offered a superb acoustic set that included “Sodom, South Georgia,” “Upward Over The Mountain,” “Naked As We Came” and “Peace Beneath the City,” his guitar the perfect pairing for his haunting, rich voice. To my delight, he also did “Love Vigilantes” (I vaguely recall dancing to New Order’s original version back in the 1980s) and was brought back for an encore, for which he offered “Boy With A Coin.”

One of the night’s funniest moments came mid-set, when someone in the back shouted “I loved you in ‘The Hangover.’” Funny how Beam really does resemble bearded actor Zach Galifianakis. That wasn’t the only reference to the movies. Beam also performed “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” which was in the movie “Twilight” (remember Bella’s prom scene?).

The other headlining act, Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard (Jay Farrar is the force behind alt-country’s Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, while Gibbard leads the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie) stuck to songs from their 2009 CD, “One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Music From Kerouac’s Big Sur,” with lyrics taken from the pages of the beat poet’s work and crafted into a series of acoustic melodies.

Gibbard's voice in particular seemed well suited to the melancholy lyrics. Working with a 3-man band, Gibbard and Farrar were all business on tunes such as “California Zephyr,” “These Roads Don’t Move” and “You Remind Me of Home.” It was nice to see Gibbard rock out more than he does with Death Cab, and the band was extremely tight. Band members were never introduced, so here’s a shout out to you guys, whoever you were.

By now Jer Coons, a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from Vermont, is probably used to being compared to Jason Mraz or John Mayer, but Coons has his own style, and man, can that kid play guitar. Some advice: lay off dedicating your songs “to all the ladies in the house” — it’s cheesy — but otherwise keep on doing what you’re doing. Great songs and a charming stage presence will take you a long way. The cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” was a winner.

Canadian group Po’ Girl really got the crowd going in the first half with its mix of gypsy fiddle, clarinet and accordion. Vocalist Allison Russell is a powerhouse.

The Band of Heathens, from Austin, Texas, was a crowd-pleaser with its solid set of Townes Van Zandt / The Band-influenced country blues, jamming hard on “You’re Going to Miss Me When I’m Gone.”

My only complaint about Hoots and Hellmouth was that their time on stage was too short. I wanted to get more of this alt-country jam band that’s as much fun to watch as to hear. “You and All of Us” (with the catchy lyric, “if you can’t trust us, who can you trust?”) proved these guys possess mad guitar skills and are worth catching when they come to The Ark for a full show later this year.

After intermission, Ark Executive Director Marianne James told the crowd that both nights of the Folk Festival sold out, only the second time that has happened in the event’s 45-year history. Since the festival accounts for 15-20 percent of The Ark’s annual operating budget, “that’s a big boon for us,” she said.

An act meant to be a surprise for Friday and Saturday, and billed in the program as a Special Guest Artist, turned out to be a no-show. Grant-Lee Phillips fell ill and wound up unable to attend.

Emcee Patty Larkin did a pretty good job of moving the night along, providing music, patter and general announcements as needed, except for the way-too-mellow tune (I think it was “Traveling Alone” — I could hardly hear) she offered while Gibbard and Farrar’s crew were banging around behind her setting up the stage. At any rate, I’m looking forward to seeing more of her on Saturday night.