When [LouFest 2015] (http://www.loufest.com/) kicked off Sept. 12 at Forest Park in St. Louis, it was the largest opening day for the music festival, with 25,000 attendees. The gates opened at 12 p.m., and the first two performances began at 1 p.m.

Here’s how it works: There are four stages at the festival and two concerts at a time. So, for example, at 4 p.m., Robert Delong was playing his electronic music on one stage, and on the opposite side of the festival, Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas were performing their pop/soul music.

There were 17 concerts total and many memorable performances by artists such as Nate Ruess and Brandon Flowers, but when it comes down to it, Hozier and Ludacris stole the show.

Ludacris performed an hourlong set starting at 8 p.m. He came out on stage sporting a “Never Sold Dope” sweatshirt and had the crowd chanting, “St. Luda.” The crowd was excited and sang along to all of the hits he performed, including “Pimpin’ all over the World,” “Act a Fool,” “My Chick Bad” and “Get Back.”

Just when you thought Ludacris’s performance couldn’t be topped, though, Hozier took stage.

He was not as involved with the crowd as Ludacris was, but his voice was just as good, if not better, than usual. It seemed as if everyone at LouFest surrounded around the stage and was captivated by his soulful voice.

Although most closing acts at LouFest perform for an hour and 30 minutes, he kept his set limited to one hour. He ended his show-stopping performance with “Work Song” and “Take Me to Church.”

Many people were not expecting Hozier to deliver such a solid performance on Saturday night. He was up against tough expectations from last year’s headliners, Outkast and the Arctic Monkeys. But it was easy to see that he did not disappoint.