It happens to all music lovers, hopefully more than once in their lives, when a great performance grips them in a magical trance, sending shivers down their spines.

After veteran folk singer Penny Lang asked the audience to sing along during her Friday evening set at the Frostbite Music Festival's Woodshed stage, an instant choir erupted from the darkness. Not only did those in attendance bear witness to one of these magic moments, but they played an intimate part in creating it.

And that feeling of intimacy sums up the 31st Frostbite Music Festival at Yukon College and Yukon Arts Centre over the weekend.

When musicians weren't up on stage they wandered freely around other venues, taking in what their colleagues had to offer and reaping congratulations from newly minted fans.

Boasting an honour roll of stellar past performers that has included k.d. lang, Ani DiFranco and Sarah McLachlan, this year's Frostbite lineup is similarly destined to reverberate into Canada's musical lexicon.

In a set highly anticipated by both audience and players, Hamilton Ontario's Chris Adeney - a.k.a. Wax Mannequin - delivered a no-frills, straight ahead blast of rock'n'roll Saturday evening, made even more amazing by the fact he did it all alone.

Mixing the pop power sensibilities of Arcade Fire with the distorted goodness of the Jesus and Mary Chain, Wax Mannequin is a bonafide one-man groove machine.

Accompanied by a temperamental drum box, his classical guitar and bouquet of roses he periodically ripped from his shirt and hurled at the crowd, Adeney offered his own material, peppering it with such amped up classics like John Waite's Missing You and a gritty hardrock version of Gordon Lightfoot's Sundown. Sweet.

Winnipeg's Novillero were up next and their manic performance brought those on the dance floor to near hysteria, pounding out a punishing set of R&B-inspired power pop.

Not to be outdone by Wax Mannequin, Novillero offered a nod to their influences as well, serving up covers of Hall and Oates' Maneater and Pierre Tubbs' Right Back Where We Started From, the theme song from hockey movie classic Slapshot.

While Novillero band mates confessed that Frostbite was the largest audience they've played before to date, we at the Star think this quintet's future is bright and their audiences will only get bigger.

As for local bands who made a similar impression, huge kudos have to go to Sasquatch Prom Date, who literally blew the lid off the joint Friday evening with a searing set of sci-fi rockabilly for the ages.

Fronted by the pompadoured Ryan McNally, his slick gyrations, even slicker guitar licks and vocal howls channeling the likes of rockabilly godfather Gene Vincent, firmly established Sasquatch Prom Date as the local band to be reckoned with.

On a mellower, but no less inspiring note, was young up-and-coming Come Eat A Cat, who played the Cafe stage Friday night.

This local quartet of fellows, barely old enough to drive, were in full command of a demanding set of jazz favourites and sprightly original compositions.

Jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli loomed large in Come Eat A Cat's repertoire and the boys proved they had the chops to tackle Grappelli's wild flourishes and the panache to handle standards like All of Me and Sweet Georgia Brown with equal aplomb.

While youthful enthusiasm and appearances were a large part of the Cat's charm, the sense that these guys genuinely love the music they play - rather than just grinding out sheet music placed before them by strict violin teachers - is what made them a treat to watch.

A standout Saturday performance on the Cafe stage was courtesy of Toronto "sexy nerd" Laura Barrett, who accompanied herself on the African kalimba and delighted the audience with whimsical songs and humorous insights. Barrett's Robot Ponies is destined to become an alt-rock classic.

Barrett joined Mathias Kom and Kim Barlow (also known as Spring Breakup) on the Yukon Arts Centre stage Sunday for a couple songs and her kalimba playing was a perfect compliment to Kom's ukulele and Barlow's banjo.

As the three-day music extravaganza wound down Sunday evening, it went out with a bang rather than a whimper.

Guitar legend Amos Garrett led off the finale before being joined on stage by several performers for an all-star jam. And like she captivated her audience in the Woodshed two days earlier, Lang walked on stage and belted out Curtis Mayfield's People Get Ready with a power and presence that belied her 60-odd years.

For the lucky souls who took in Frostbite, spring came a few months early regardless of the temperature outdoors.

Festival organizers did a commendable job of transforming the college gymnasium, woodshop and student lounge into warm and inviting environments.

And much credit for the smashing success of the festival must go to producer Patrick Singh and artistic director Eric Epstein.

When it was suggested Frostbite was akin to an indoor version of Dawson City's famed summer music festival, Epstein was quick to offer a correction.

"I like to think of Dawson City (Music Festival) as an outdoor version of ours."

Well, Mr. Epstein, you've got the Star's vote, and we can't wait 'til next year ... never thought there'd be a reason to look forward to winter!