Dead Oceans' Tallest Man on Earth plays Bonnaroo

While the Tallest Man on Earth may not have lived up to his height reference at his Bonnaroo performance, that doesn’t mean he didn’t put on a big show.

It turns out Kristian Matsson’s moniker is tongue-in-cheek.

Matsson is actually short, making him almost impossible to see unless you were standing close to the stage.

The 30-year-old songwriter from Leksand, Sweden, is signed to the Bloomington record label Dead Oceans.

His first recordings come from a 2006 self-titled album. This was followed by “Shallow Grave” in 2008, which received critical acclaim.

While his first two albums were produced with the independent Swedish label Gravitation, the proceeding releases (2010’s “The Wild Hunt” and 2012’s “There’s No Leaving Now”) were produced with Dead Oceans.

Matsson is known for recording his studio albums live with just one microphone and acoustic guitar — his live show was no different.

Matsson played This Tent — a secondary venue not to be confused with That Tent or The Other Tent — at Bonnaroo in the mid-afternoon Saturday in front of thousands of fans.

Most had arrived early and were crowded in to the tent early to seek out the coveted shade. Many were eagerly anticipating seeing the artist for the first time.

Joe Monticelli travelled from Wisconsin to attend the festival in Manchester, Tenn.

He had heard Matsson’s music and one of his fellow campers talked him into coming to the show.

“I’m lovin’ it,” Monticelli said with a smile. “This is my first time hearing him and I don’t normally go for folk music, but this guy is really good.”

Most of the crowd was young – which is saying something about the staying power of folk music in 2013. Matsson had them from the start with a rousing clapper, and then he mesmerized and silenced them as he played crowd favorite “Love is All.” Perhaps the most memorable performance was a haunting cover of the normally cheery Paul Simon tune “Graceland.”

Matsson turned This Tent into something of a dreamy, esoteric oasis, surrounded by the chaos of the festival. The show was bookended by less dreamy, if not equally enthralling performances, by Death Grips and NAS.

His voice is driven by seemingly restrained passion. Normally almost squeakily crooning with a light and scratchy tone, his live voice was more hearty and guttural — almost gurgling at times — compared to his recorded sound. However that could have just been a condition of the hot Manchester, Tenn., summer and the energy from the throngs of fans he was feeding off of.

“I’ve been listening to Tallest Man for a while now,”  Matt Thomas, a Georgia resident, said.

Thomas recently had the chance to meet Matsson in person.

“He’s a really humble dude," Thomas said. "He seems to be a really genuine person. He’s the friendliest guy I’ve ever met and his music is so heartfelt.”

While Matsson gives off a humble (he thanked everyone for listening after each song) and unassuming tone, his stage presence was quite active. Angling and lurking around the stage with his guitar – he gouges and challenges the crowd with the guitar neck and his lyrics – throwing his pick in exaltation.

The Tallest Man on Earth was not the biggest name on the bill, but be was able to make the masses stop and listen and feel something on a hot afternoon.

For Bonnaroo, that’s saying something.