What could drive hundreds of New Englanders into the teeth of an oncoming blizzard – the second one in a week? An evening with the Punch Brothers, hosted by the Newport Folk Festival, that’s what. This past Saturday at the House of Blues, after a warm-up from opener Anais Mitchell, Chris Thile and the boys took the stage to the sort of triumphant welcome only a rowdy, happy-to-be-out-before-the-snow-hits Boston crowd can deliver.

From opening with the apprehension of “Another New World” to closer “Movement and Location’s” pensive urgency they wove their spell over the room, equal parts swagger and pure musicianship, and for at least a couple of whiskey-soaked hours the people of Boston forgot just how sore their arms were from all that snow shoveling.