Gavin DeGraw played Friday night in one of the biggest events ever held in afterHOURS, attracting over 225 students to listen to the singer/songwriter perform tracks from his latest album, “Chariot.”

Students began lining up outside afterHOURS around 3:30 p.m., said manager Jacqueline Indrisano. Yellow wristbands were handed to the first 225 students in line, while the rest of the students were turned away at the door.

“We were filled to capacity, 273 people is capacity,” she said.

The crowd roared as DeGraw performed his hits “Follow Through” and “I Don’t Want to Be,” the theme for the WB television show “One Tree Hill.”

DeGraw also performed several covers, with his rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On” eliciting the best response from the crowd. DeGraw worked the crowd during his performance of Gaye’s classic hit, grabbing the hand of an audience member before jumping onto his seat so he could see the entire crowd.

The concert was free and open only to Northeastern students.

DeGraw said it was nice to be back in Boston, where he once spent a year attending the Berklee College of Music.

“It’s great here, it’s a lot better now that I’m not completely poor,” DeGraw said before the show. “When I was living here I was living off a slice of pizza a day, maybe two pieces if I was really hungry. Window shopping was fun, but aggravating.”

DeGraw, who said he has always had a passion for music, grew up in a musical family in upstate New York and eventually moved to New York City to pursue a performing career.

“I just started playing small clubs and caf