Passenger's greatest hit is "Let Her Go" (Twitter/@ItsaMiro).

While One Direction played at the Hollywood Bowl, Passenger played a smaller venue across town. The now one-man band embraced simplicity by refraining from set decorations and enlisting two lesser-known opening acts.

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The first performer of the night was Australian singer-guitarist Stu Larsen. By the time he took the stage and belted his first tune, the ground area in front of the stage had already begun filling to capacity. It's unclear if people were merely trying to reserve a good spot to stand or if Stu truly had plenty of fans, but the high level of applause after each song seemed to indicate the latter. One of the songs he performed was a cover to Coldplay's "Fix You." His vocals are decent - he has a country, blues sound about him - but his rendition was no match to the original. Then again, covers usually aren't.

Next up was The Once, a Canadian band who introduced itself as unknown to its American audience. The polite crowd cheered, anyway. The band is composed of a female lead and two accompanying male vocalists. They opted to do an acoustic song first and then perform with instruments. Their upbeat tunes and down-to-earth jokes helped The Once connect with the audience. The band told the crowd it had met Passenger while on the road, and the two groups hit it off and decided to tour together.

Plenty of couples were in the audience that evening and it especially showed when the band performed a cover to "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" by Elvis Presley. Hips swayed, couples kissed and the brave few sang along.

After another brief intermission, it was Passenger's turn. For those unaware, Passenger is a one-man show. Previously the vocalist and songwriter for the band Passenger, Mike Rosenberg opted to keep its name once he went solo in 2009. 

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Two years ago, Rosenberg AKA Passenger opened for Ed Sheeran. Now, he has his own show. The Whispers tour is an effort to promote his new solo CD by the same name.

Passenger and his guitar opened with "Fairytales & Firesides." Instantly, it's clear Passenger has the makings of a great singer: He sounds just as good live as he does on his recorded singles. His signature raspiness is the same and his energy onstage is contagious. He gives his all in every song.

He performed songs one after the other. The audience sang along to "Life's for the Living" and his rendition of "What is Love?"

During down time between songs, Passenger told his audience stories that inspired his song. He shared a story involving his addiction to cigarettes and his struggle to quit the habit, which led to his song "Riding to New York."

He kept the night going with "Sound of Silence," "Patient" and "I Hate." Sidenote: Passenger hates "X Factor" for "murdering music." He continued on with a "Wake Me Up" cover and his hit single "Let Her Go."

To finish, he brought Stu Larsen back out for one last jam. The two harmonized to "Heart's On Fire." Passenger ended with a song on his own, "Whispers."

Reach Senior Entertainment Editor Kathy Zerbib here. Follow her on Twitter here.