A space once known for hosting the likes of Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Duke Ellington got a good dose of its mojo back on Saturday night.

The Old Ceremony turned on a near-capacity crowd at the 180-seat Dumas Center auditorium with an eclectic style, incorporating Jewish secular folk music, jazz, classical and more into its blues-rock machine.

Its lyrics touch on dark themes, with melodies that stick in the head. Band leader and songwriter Django Haskins likes it that way.

“These [lyrics] make Donovan look like Morrisey,” he said, before launching into a tune that, to an ear untrained in dialect, sounded east Asian — except for the words “Sorry. I’m so sorry.” That was supposed to be the happy song? What a jokester!

The rest of his lyrics were in English and tended toward such observations as “You’ve got lots of friends, but you know it all depends on your money and your Benz, when you’re dumbed down.” And that was the sing-along.

Musically, the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based group is doing a fascinating job taking chances with arrangements and instrumentation in a world where most folks aren’t much interested in either. Vibraphone? Check. Cello? Check. Violin? Check. Tympani? Check, though the kettle drum was little used. But there was no pretension — just good music.

Haskins has an inimitable guitar style. He probably knows all the cliches. He probably even likes some. But he refuses to use them as stock, instead grabbing bits like a Chuck Berry-style string bend to briefly flavor his often time-shifting, highly percussive and occasionally dissonant leads. The rest of the 6-man band was smoking, too.

The show’s hosts, My Radio, preceded Haskins’ group with a blast of pop rock that showed potential for wide success. The band’s “Turn Up The Radio” sounded like Elvis Costello mashed up with the Smithereens. Singer J.P. Powell was a presence behind his electric piano, singing strongly and benefiting from a great rhythm section — Brett Lemon on guitar, and particularly drummer Hunter Johnson and bassist Jeff Hofmann — who played with the steadiness and taste of big-shot studio veterans.

Special guest Ross Copperman — back from Great Britain, where he is under contract to Phonogenic/RCA — played a short set that included the Beatles’ “Eight Days a Week,” and his own “All She Wrote.” His hard work in the UK hasn’t left him weak of voice or stage presence. Somebody get this guy his own show around here before he gets too big to play a good, intimate room.

Ex-Roanoker Stephen Sellers — who played here years ago as part of Thee Wanderers — opened the show. Sellers, now of Wilmington, N.C., writes interesting lyrics that are full of regret. Unfortunately, his songs’ quality was inferior to the words. He had a nice idea of playing power chords with open strings shimmering all fuzzed-out below them, but he didn't use much else.

The members of My Radio said this is the first in what they hope is a recurring set of local shows held in alternative venues. This was a fine start.

The auditorium in the historic Dumas emerged as part of the old building’s latest renovation. In roughly a year since it opened, though, there haven’t been regular live music shows there. That needs to change. OK, visually, it’s not impressive — the grant writer for this project obviously wasn’t trying to get enough money to replicate a classic theater vibe. But the room sounds good. Every seat has a good view. And the lighting rig is adequate to set a mood on the performance floor. And it is a floor, not a stage. But what matters is what’s happening where the music is.

And on Saturday, what was happening was good.