The California Honeydrops had the crowd swinging and swaying to its high-energy, infectious, horn-driven, dance-party vibes during a three-hour concert May 6 at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall in West Asheville. 

About 270 people attended, with a highly unusual mixed demographic that included mostly 20-somethings — but ranging up to those who might have been 50 years older.

The Honeydrops, with a barrelhouse-style rhythm section keyed by pianist Chris Burns, played two sets — 70 minutes and 90 minutes each — punctuated by a 30-minute break.

A major highlight was the rousing conclusion of the concert, finishing the night off with a most definitive bang.

Indeed, the six-member band — while playing a jam of its song “Hanging out With the Street People” —boogied off the stage and into the very center of the crowd below ... like a traditional New Orleans band at the end of a swinging, joyful jazz funeral.

The throng of fans made way for the band members, who set up in a circle, facing one another, as the revved-up audience danced and cheered on the periphery.

The Honeydrops, who formed in 2007 and busked in the subway stations of Oakland, Calif., said during the Isis show that they — about five years ago — had played a four-day stint “on the streets” of downtown Asheville, earning them a performance in Lexington Avenue’s now-defunct BoBo Gallery.

The Honeydrops are led by Lech Wierzynski, a dynamic lead singer with a golden voice and multi-instrumentalist. The group draws on diverse musical influences from Bay Area rhythm and blues, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues and New Orleans second-line.

The show opened with an original, “Superman Is Dead — Goodbye Whiskey” and then virtually soared with a cover of Wilson Pickett’s “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” that featured a wild saxophone lead.

The Honeydrops, a humble band that has recently served as an opening act to Bonnie Raitt, praised Asheville as “our new hometown,” extolling its many virtues, but added that “we still love Oakland.”

The band included lead singer Wierzynski (most of the time playing guitar, and sometimes on trumpet), along with a bassist, keyboardist, saxophonist, clarinetist and drummer. On certain songs, the clarinetist would play saxophone instead. Several group members also provided stellar backup harmony.

Wierzynski, who was born in Warsaw, Poland, has a voice that has been compared to that of late-great soul singers Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, among others.

The concert featured a mix of originals and covers of songs. At least twice during the concert, several of the group members would stand side by side at centerstage (while the others would leave the stage) and play songs that especially featured top-notch washboard-playing.

Other highlights of the first set included renditions of “Like You Mean It,” “Everybody Gets Brought Down” and “When It Was Wrong,” the last of which included an extended vocal jam at the end that delighted the crowd.

Memorable songs from the second set included renditions of The Impressions’ “People Get Ready” (with gorgeous three-part harmony), “Crazy Girls,” “Miss Louise” and “Just Because.”