Sunday night at the corner of North Avenue 56 and Figueroa Street, chatter emitted from the old Masonic Temple’s second floor. Up a narrow staircase lined with posters from old performances, patrons shuffled into a great expanse of cherry-wood paneling, creaky floors and archaic paintings.

It was the Lodge Room, and Alice Phoebe Lou was set to play for hundreds of bubbling fans at a time when most Angelenos nestled at home for the dawn of a new week. Guitars lined the stage in anticipation of Lou as conversation fizzed and fans ordered cocktails from the horseshoe-shaped bar.

Before Lou took the stage, her “dear friend” and opener, Salami Rose Joe Louis, pumped the venue with ambient instrumentals through high speakers on the 16-foot ceiling. Louis’s music scored a kickback of talking circles and wallflowers holding drinks at the room’s edge.

The opener and her guitarist won over the fans, enchanting the room with her keyboard and minimal vocals. Louis pursed her lips, gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut to perfect her sound in a blue haze. The track switched, and heads bobbed in the crowd with her electronic beats. Women dressed in Lou’s style of long, frilly dresses surrendered themselves to the opener’s ambient-pop songs.

After a brief intermission for tuning, the lights dimmed, and an orange stagelight faded onto Lou holding her acoustic guitar and a steaming cup of tea. The Lodge Room erupted at the sight of the Cape Town musician, beaming in their best threads. It might as well be the first day of school, and everyone’s crush just walked into class.

Lou started her set with the acoustic meditation, “Halo,” from her 2023 album, “Shelter.” The steam from her cup filtered into the smoke cloud while the singer prophesied, “I’m always caring for everybody else / But if I put that care in me, how easy it could be.”

Lou’s performance displays an intimacy you wouldn’t first ascribe to a musician with millions of monthly listeners and an international tour schedule. She stresses lyrics with her hands like the audience is a dinner party of close friends after a few glasses of wine.

During Lou’s hit song “Witches,” couples opted for their own world in each other’s arms, belting lyrics face to face while Lou soundtracked their moment, “Let’s share a few dirty habits (dirty habits) / Let’s share a few dirty habits (ooh).”

The audience was fixed on Lou while she switched from an electric guitar to an acoustic, struggling to contain their affection. “You look beautiful!” shouted one fan. Another chimed in, “You are beautiful!”

The crowd only became more lively near the show’s end, throwing an impromptu dance party to bid farewell to the night’s guest of honor. During “Angel,” fans formed a choir, imploring with her, “Is it safe to go outside? / I’ve been hiding for quite some time.”

Stylish boots speckled the hardwood floor, but Lou’s dreamlike strings and vocals would sound best shoeless in a meadow. Masses of people were light in their bodies and smiled twice as wide knowing someone with her fame carried such a sweet demeanor. It’s no wonder Lou convinced hundreds to go out on a Sunday night, or that the Lodge Room opened its doors for two more of her shows.