Thursday night marked an atypical performance for the Barre Opera House. A full-fledged hip-hop show was held, and the theme of addiction flowed throughout the show.

Most notably, Houston rapper and former Geto Boys member Scarface came to Vermont for the first time to perform at the historical opera house.

“Feel the Bern!” he exclaimed countless times during his performance, and displayed a Bernie Sanders presidential bumper sticker during the entire time he was on stage.

Scarface asked the enthusiastic crowd to come into the orchestra pit for a more intimate concert. He high-fived and shook hands with many audience members, and even kissed one woman’s head.

In addition to rapping some of his classic jams, some of which were from his time with the Geto Boys, he also played acoustic guitar versions of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” and The Eagles’ “Hotel California.”

“I’ve been listening to Scarface for a very long time,” said Tyler Mead, who brought his 11-year-old daughter to the PG-13-rated show. “I wanted to support the local talent.”

And there was plenty of local talent Thursday night.

Vermont rap group Causin Effect had a very Vermont feel. One of its members, decked out in country gear, rapped about mud season and four-wheel-drive trucks. He also put on a single, white, sparkly glove before breaking into some signature Michael Jackson dance moves.

On a more serious note, some of Causin Effect’s lyrics spoke about addiction. One verse was about Narcan and being brought back to life during an overdose.

Burlington acoustic guitarist Jamell Nyt impressed the crowd with his vocal talent and touching lyrics on addiction. He performed an original song he composed about substance abuse, called “The Fix.”

“As you know it’s a huge problem in our state and it affects a lot of people,” he said. “This (song) is drawn from personal experience of friends and family that I’ve lost. … It doesn’t matter how broke you are, how rich you are, what color you are, addiction is a disease. There’s no discretion.”

Sen. David Zuckerman, P/D-Chittenden, also spoke about addiction on stage.

“Right now, in our state, we have a one-year waiting list for people who want to get off of drugs,” he said. “We don’t put the money into it like we should. That is criminal.”

Burlington poet Rajnii Eddins read a spoken word piece about avoiding the pitfalls of addiction. Here is an excerpt:

it steals the glow from your eyes and the shine from your face

blows to the depth that was once held in grace

the numbing sensation that leaves pain to replacement

but never addresses or remedies the situation

addiction is more than a word

a sweet dream deferred

a journey down the rabbit hole that leads off this earth

divorced from your source and affirming self worth

Barre hip-hop group BAR NONE THE BEST, as well as rap groups VT Union and Know Your Truth, put on energetic performances. The event was hosted by comedians King Sha-mecca Blaze and Jade Marcotte, both of Burlington. They prompted a lot of laughs from the crowd.

Texas rappers Gorgeous George and OG Gripand joined the lineup, as well as Money-B from the hip-hop group Digital Underground.

The event was a fundraiser for Spaulding High School’s art department in honor the late Andy Williams, known in local entertainment circles as DJ A-Dog.

The opera house was not filled to capacity — not even close — but that didn’t seem to bother most attendees.

“This show was amazing, it was great because there wasn’t a lot of people. It made it a lot better,” said Mark Rogers, of East Braintree.

He said he goes to a lot of hip-hop shows and says it’s not usually this much fun.

“This was way more chill. Seeing some rappers perform in bars is not as chill,” he said. “This was all about seeing someone perform.”

Thursday’s show was a dry event, which means no alcohol was served.

Dakota Burr of VT Union said he wished the turnout was better.

“The people that did come out, they had good energy,” he said, “but I also think a lot of the people who came out tonight have never been to a hip-hop show before.”

gina.tron @timesargus.com