Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett is known primarily as a record producer. He has successfully produced albums by Los Lobos, Brandi Carlisle, Elton John, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, and countless others. His list of movie and TV soundtracks is impressive.

But Burnett showed off his performing skills Sunday evening at the Old Town School of Folk Music. This was Burnett's first tour in almost twenty years, and he assembled a top-notch group of musicians to accompany him.

In a show that lasted over 2.5 hours, the veteran producer/songwriter/musician/singer entertained a sold-out audience with his blend of country blues.

He began the evening with a solo performance of "He Came Down," a hymn-like song from his most recent album, "The Other Side."

While T Bone played guitar and sang, he was joined by a lead guitarist, an upright bass, and one who switched between mandolin and violin. After every two songs, a new musician walked on stage until they formed a quartet. Most of the numbers of the evening were songs written or co-written by Mr. Burnett, but he included a few covers, such as Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song" and Elvis Costello's "The Scarlet Tide." T Bone has worked with many of the music industry's greats and told stories of his career between numbers. He consistently referred to other musicians as "cats."

Burnett closed his encore set by reprising "He Came Down," the song with which he opened the show - this time accompanied by the entire band.

T Bone Burnett has won Grammys and Oscars for the recordings he produced. But he shone tonight with his live performance.