Gracie Abrams performs at the State Theatre in Portland in October. Photo by Lauren Tepfer

By noon, the line to get in to the Gracie Abrams concert at the State Theatre had already wound around Congress Street to High Street. Although the rising pop star would not take the stage until 9 p.m., you needed to be aggressive if you wanted to stake out some real estate near that stage.

The concert sold out months ago, and tickets on the resale market were going for hundreds of dollars above face value. Yet it’s also likely the average person passing the theater saw the name on the marquee and wondered who she is and how she became so popular.

The answer to “how” likely involves Taylor Swift, the supernova that so much of the music industry orbits around. The two songwriters are friends; Abrams opened several dates of Swift’s blockbuster Eras tour, occasionally joining Swift on stage. Swift appears on Abrams’ album, “The Secret of Us,” which was co-produced by frequent Swift collaborator Aaron Dessner (of the rock band The National). The connections are tight, and the crowd at the Abrams concert comprised mainly young women who were likely Swifties, or at least Swiftie-adjacent; the first-floor men’s room was converted to an additional women’s room to accommodate the audience demographics.

As to who Abrams is, she’s a skyrocketing young star who plays guitar and keyboards and has an easygoing charm that translates wonderfully to the stage. Her father is filmmaker J.J. Abrams (yes, of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”), but her mother, Katie McGrath, is more germane to the Portland performance: McGrath was born and raised in Brewer, Maine.

Gracie has been close to Maine since childhood (songs of hers are named for Augusta, Camden and Rockland), and she expressed her love for the state and for her family in attendance. Indeed, she is the rare performer to shout out her grammy from the State Theatre stage and be referring to her grandmother, not the music industry award.

Now, to be clear: famous parents and being pals with Taylor won’t bring fans out if the songs aren’t worthy, and Abrams is an immensely talented songwriter with a great sense of melody. She drew most of the concert’s material from “The Secret of Us,” from the backlit opening ballad “Felt Good About You” to the show-stopping climax of “Close To You.” Her lyrics are often whipsmart attempts to navigate love and relationships that are conversational enough to feel like a confiding friend and introspective enough, with an empowering sense of self, to feel like a diary entry. She’s the kind of artist who has songs titled both “I Love You, I’m Sorry” (which is currently climbing the Billboard Hot 100) and “i miss you, i’m sorry.” Both of these songs, suffice it to say, slayed in a concert setting.

On the album, her voice is recorded so beautifully – with just the right amount of reverb to give it a grainy sense of longing and empathy – that you wonder how these vocals would translate to a concert setting. This question turned out to be largely moot, however, as the crowd loudly sang along with nearly every song, jumping with joy and release as her poppier songs switched from the country-esque verses to the booming, club-ready choruses.

Throughout the entire concert, the audience elevated the music into a full-blown event. Abrams was outwardly grateful that her songs made such a connection, even referring to her fans as the evening’s “co-headliner.” The people who waited in line all day were wise; it will likely be their last opportunity to see Abrams so close. Many artists stop at the State Theatre on their way to bigger venues – Thompson’s Point, Boston-area arenas, and beyond. Abrams was the rare artist to make the State Theatre itself feel bigger, and her fans were a big reason for that.

Robert Ker is a freelance writer in Portland. He can be reached at bobzker@gmail.com.