Thursday evening, musician José González was incognito as he wove his way through the crowded Memorial Union Terrace. With his head bobbing to the music streaming through his headphones, this Sweden-born singer-songwriter was also oblivious to the crowd around him as he made his way down to Lake Mendota for a pre-set stroll.

It seems unlikely then that this reserved, virtually unrecognizable, classical guitar-wielding musician would be a musical force across the world — even playing alongside prolific acts like Rage Against the Machine at California's Coachella music festival.

"That was fun — fun festival," González said before he took the Terrace stage later that evening.

Of course, Thursday's performance was no intentional music blowout. The crowded Terrace was full of men and women excited to merely unwind and chat with their friends over a pitcher of beer. González didn't seem to mind.

"I know that there are shows where people come to see you, and there are shows like today where it's more of an open thing and people are there to drink beers and maybe check me out, but it's not the goal of their evening," the singer said. "I don't bother if people talk a bit. I don't make a big deal out of it."

As scores of fans gathered near the stage, however, it was clear that González and opening act Hayward Williams' music would serve as more than background noise for the packed Terrace's occupants.

At 9 p.m., Hayward Williams took the stage to introduce his brand of alt-country folk to the relaxing crowd. Displaying influences from Bob Dylan, Otis Redding and Bruce Springsteen in his plucky guitar playing, this slender Milwaukee native also demonstrated a surprising depth in his smooth vocals. Williams' sixth song, a beautifully heartbreaking piece about a boy with autism, displayed these vocals expertly as the toned guitar work allowed the musician's emotional vocals to shine.

By the final song of Williams' set, a tune the musician said was "one of [his] favorite songs of all time," this young singer had more than warmed up the audience for González' performance.

Once more, the crowd seemed oblivious to González' presence as he mounted the brightly lit stage to begin his set. However, that soon changed. As Gonzalez plucked that nylon guitar string, a hush quickly fell over the buzzing crowd. Opening with "Deadweight on Velveteen" from his 2005 album Veneer, the classically trained guitarist softly crooned over the plucky, vigorous guitar line. As the track concluded, the appreciative audience met González' expert skills with enthusiastic shouts of "José G!" and another round of wild applause.

Although his self-written tunes received grand applause, González' renditions of other artists' work met the greatest appreciation throughout the evening. The singer used these tracks to claim the audience's immediate attention and bring those less familiar with his body of work into the music.

"Usually it helps to play the songs that I know people have heard," the singer said. "I mean, if they've heard me, they've probably heard 'Heartbeats.'"

As he struck the first chords of that ultra-successful tune, a cover of the Knife's obscure track, the crowd went crazy with cheers and thunderous applause. It's no wonder this track of Sony Bravia commercial fame is a crowd favorite. With its heartfelt lyrics and beautiful melodies, the track's throbbing guitar overlay and a swooping bass undercurrent best demonstrate González' classically trained skills.

González finished up his emotional set with yet another cover — an acoustic revamping of Massive Attack's hit "Teardrop." Although the original version was a bass-heavy, speaker-throbbing track, González converted it into yet another beautiful track full of quiet, yet intense, plucky guitar lines and gentle acoustic rhythms. As the track concluded and the vigorous guitar work began to fade away, an airplane gracefully soared overhead, a visual spectacle to complement the finale of González' set.

Although the audience hadn't recognized this soft-spoken musician earlier in the evening, there would be no doubt that they would not soon forget José González' face as he exited the stage giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Most importantly though, the audience would never forget this singer's beautiful brand of "folk that" music.