Frost Amphitheatre came alive on the night of July 3 as Grammy-nominated swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performed for Stanford Lively Arts’ traditional pre-Independence Day celebration. The grassy arena, rarely seen by students — except during that gigantic peer mentor luncheon during New Student Orientation — was packed to the brim with local and Stanford community members.

As people of all ages settled down with their lawn chairs and picnic baskets, the jumping sounds of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy began. The band, which also plays jazz and blues, is comprised of guitarist and vocalist Scotty Morris, drummer Kirt Sodergren, acoustic base player Dirk Shumaker, pianist Glen Marhekva, trumpet player Karl Hunter, saxophone and clarinet player Karl Hunter and saxophonist Andy Rowley. Whew.

Throughout the night, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played everything from “Minnie the Moocher” to old Louis Armstrong favorites.

The band invited the audience to call back in songs such as “Go-Daddy-O.” With time, a few couples even began dancing in the sidelines and some plucky little kids let loose with some original moves — even a cartwheel or two.

Although it’s rare that a musical group can appeal to such a wide range of ages, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy seemed to be just the ticket. Generation gaps closed as teenage boys asked their mothers to dance and parents twirled their giggling toddlers into the air. The swinging tunes were just that infectious.

As the sun began to set, more people abandoned their inhibitions, turning the grassy ground into a bona fide dance floor. The band’s version of “The Jungle Book” song “I Want to be Just Like You,” was a crowd pleaser. Those who weren’t on their feet were bobbing their heads to the beat, and even the younger members of the audience were waving their glow sticks back and forth.

When the band finished their set at 9:30, no one was ready to stop dancing. After the crowd rose to its feet and chanted for an encore, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy returned to bid everyone adieu with their song “So-Long-Farewell-Goodbye.”

The echoes of swing music dissolved as the fireworks show blasted into the inky sky. Although the fireworks were accompanied by a seemingly never-ending medley of John Philip Sousa’s well-known military marches, the sounds of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy were what lingered through the night.