Here’s to Hozier. A dozen years ago, the lanky Irishman was hitting every open stage in Dublin that would have him while he found his voice as a songwriter. Then he wrote a song that changed everything for him, packing all of the R&B influences of his parents’ record collection into a love song of passionate urgency, the gospel-flavored “Take Me to Church.” Suddenly, Hozier had a hit and was soon up for a “Song of the Year” Grammy.

He could have gone the route of many a one-hit wonder, but he just kept getting better, albeit not at a particularly prolific pace. Only releasing albums every five years, Hozier became not only a favorite of teens and 20-somethings, but an artisan of atmospheric folk-rock with a literary bent, culminating in a critically acclaimed 2023 album, “Unreal Unearth.” Something of a song cycle inspired by both Dante’s “Inferno” and the isolation of COVID, it was both absorbingly intimate and inspiringly anthemic.

On Saturday night, the 34-year-old artist born Andrew John Hozier-Byrne filled St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center with almost two hours of music that was most memorable when at its quietest, his love ballads resonating with a crowd of 15,000-plus intent upon singing along.

And the singer-songwriter said he appreciated the help, as he let the audience know early on that he was battling a cold. But his energetic eight-piece band obliged, as well, layering many of his vocals in additional harmonies. And, while the evening was front-loaded with rockers that didn’t set his voice out in stark relief, Hozier’s tenor seemed to grow stronger by the song, eventually lending a wondrous wail to his most popular tunes.

Yes, “Take Me to Church” was the closer for his main set – and the crowd shouted along with vigor – but the stomping gospel rhythms arrived early with a spirited performance of “Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene.” Yet it was the set’s folky center that stood out: “Like Real People Do,” “I, Carrion” and “From Eden” all sounded not far removed from those coffeehouse open stages in their intimacy.

But Hozier and band found common ground between his rockier inclinations and his quieter side on his biggest hit yet, “Too Sweet,” which has been called by some the song of summer, 2024. It also became a full-house singalong, as did the quiet acoustic encore of “Cherry Wine” and the evening-closing power ballad “Work Song.” For an artist who thrives on quietly bringing listeners into a song, he certainly inspired a full-voiced response from the very enthusiastic audience.

Opening the show was Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Russell, a multi-Grammy nominee who finally took her first one home this year, winning “Best American Roots Performance” for her song “Eve Was Black.” That was among the highlights of her set Saturday night, which was both exhilarating and meditative.

Blending her banjo and clarinet skills into the mix with her three-piece band, Russell had the adoring audience transfixed as they waved their cellphone flashlights to a ballad from her old band, Birds of Chicago, “Superlover,” and bounced along to the triumphant reclamations of a life found in “The Returner” and “Nightflyer.” If that left the crowd longing for more, they got a bit of it when she returned later to harmonize with Hozier on “Wildflower and Barley.”

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