K.d. lang truly returned in triumph to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival last night.

Making her first appearance at the festival in over a decade, lang emerged from backstage crooning Sexuality, from her current album All You Can Eat, as the entire audience at Gallagher Park rose to greet her.

Looking casually splendid with bare feet, white pants, shirt and T-shirt, she quickly eased into I Want It All.

"Well hello," she said at its conclusion. "It's been a while. Thank you for coming to this beautiful venue. I'm honored to be here tonight. It's very special. I know it was a tough decision between me and Garth Brooks."

For sure, she's as hilarious a communicator as she is a brilliant singer. Indeed, her in-between banter was really as entertaining as her songs.

This was a show, though, that brought out the full range, from gospel to opera, of lang's eclectic roots. At one point, she fired up a bubble machine as a tribute to Sissy and Don - the two dancers in the Lawrence Welk Show. Talk about vaudeville.

And just for old times, she included a tribute country segment. Heck, she even donned a glittery jacket and belted out I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, which she dedicated to Premier Ralph Klein.

"To dance is human," said she, "but to polka is divine." And off she went again, gyrating like a young Elvis Presley as the band beat out an electric polka .

Highlights, for sure, were many, and the beautiful, spartan, almost folksy Barefoot from the soundtrack of the movie Salmonberries certainly counted among the more memorable moments of the night as she cranked up the reverb to give her voice a ghostly, almost wolf-like quality.

"The music business,"she says, "has its benefits. You get to meet movie actors and date the odd model. But the greatest privilege, for me, was singing with the late Roy Orbison."

And she eased into a stunningly beautiful Crying.

Constant Craving was superbly funkier than on record and Ms. Chatelaine was absolutely sublime. This was an absolutely wonderful, wonderful performance.

Let's pray it's not 10 years before she returns.