OTTAWA - Emmylou Harris described Willie Nelson by saying, "if America only had one voice, it would be Willie's."

She also said the crossover country singer has a presence, an aura, and suggested attending one of his concerts to see it in action, because there, people act like "they're in church." And how.

It was a little like a rapt Sunday morning revival last night at the Civic Centre, where some 5,000 gathered to catch the beloved icon perform a laid-back, almost two-hour show that was part love-in, part trip down memory lane and part testament to an amazingly prolific singer/songwriter who's released five albums just this year.

Nelson strode out on stage -- after a set by opening act The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band -- with his six-piece outfit, in a black leather cowboy hat, black pants, T-shirt, sneakers and those impossibly long grey braids. As he strummed the first few notes of perennial show opener Whiskey River, before that familiar nasal-yet-mellow voice filled the arena, a Texas flag unfurled behind him to whoops of joy. It took just a few more songs for Nelson to toss his hat to a grateful member of the audience.

A couple of amiable, jam-style tunes playing off guitarist Jody Payne passed -- with Nelson sampling Crazy, the hit Patsy Cline made famous in the 1960s -- and he turned the spotlight over, briefly, to "my little sister Bobbie" on piano to don a trademark red bandana.

Nelson gave the crowd a long taste of his gentle guitar prowess on the bittersweet Help Me Make It Through the Night, moving on to tear it up a little with a nifty cover of Me and Bobby McGee.

Nelson celebrated his drummer Paul English, whom he's played with for 40 years, with a tune called, suitably, Me and Paul.

Nelson's voice warmed up as the night wore on, smooth as melted butter on the 1976 Top 10 hit If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time, nicely augmented by young Mickey Raphael on harmonica.

It was a night as nice as could be -- a gracefully-aging outlaw, who turns 73 tomorrow, commanding a crowd the way he always could.

And you gotta love those country stars. Nelson let his fans snap all the pictures they wanted, not to mention giving each T-shirt and trinket they dropped off on stage a thoughtful once-over and tossing bandana after bandana away.

There was much to love: Comfortable renditions of other performers' standards, from Hank Williams to Cindy Walker, and joyous versions of Nelson's own classics, including On the Road Again, Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, You Were Always on My Mind and the beautiful title track from 1978's Stardust.

Nelson didn't say much during the show. No need really, with four decades' worth of such rich, wide-ranging tunes to do the talking for him.

The voice of America indeed, right here in little old Ottawa.