KETTERING — With a night full of rock, folk, blues, jazz and punk, all from a feminine perspective, Thursday's concert at Fraze Pavilion was like a stripped-down Lilith Fair.

        But there were only two acts on the bill, the ever-evolving Indigo Girls and stunning newcomer Norah Jones.

        The 22-year-old singer/pianist is the early favorite for Best New Artist at the 2003 Grammys, and her 45-minute set lived up to the hype. Part of an eclectic, jazz-tinged movement that includes Cassandra Wilson and Madeleine Peyroux, Ms. Jones (whose father is Ravi Shankar) displayed sultry, seductive vocals and confident keyboard work on a broad range of music.

        Like the others, her music has a distinct Southern drawl, heard on her soulful opener, the Band's “Bessie Smith” and her version of Hank Williams' “Cold Cold Heart.”

        Though she's confident beyond her years, there was also a childlike quality to her performance that she used to good effect. On “Cold Cold Heart” she discovered a bad key on the piano and picked at it like a scab, building her performance around what was more a percussion sound than a musical note.

        That sort of daring lent a nice edge to her set, which included her fine original “Nightingale,” as well as songs by bassist Lee Alexander, part of a superb three-man band that featured ace guitarist Adam Levy.

        Her stage arrangement needs work, however. Mr. Alexander took center stage, while Ms. Jones was shunted off to the side. If it was visually disconcerting, there was no question musically who was the star. This woman could do for adult pop-jazz what Alicia Keys has done for R&B. Don't miss her if she comes to Cincinnati.

        The Indigo Girls managed to be an even bigger surprise, thanks to the punky new material from Amy Ray. Always the bigger rocker of the pair, with her recent material, including a solo album, Stag, she takes the Indigos trademark folk-rock to a whole new place.

        Emily Saliers' more folky approach remains the bedrock of the sound, and the near-sellout crowd of 3,049 (capacity is 4,300) got all the usual sing-along hits — “Get Out the Map” (featuring Ms. Saliers on solid-body, electric banjo), “Closer to Fine,” “Least Complicated” and the final encore, “Galileo.”

        But when Ms. Ray took the spotlight, thrashing out grungy Neil Young-style electric guitar on her “Yield,” from the Indigos' fine new Become You (A return to form after 1999's rambling Come on Now Social), or thumping power chords from her ancient Gibson mandolin, the Indigo Girls became a world-class rock band.

        Much of the credit for that goes to stellar drummer, Brady Blade. A veteran of Emmylou Harris' great Spyboy band, Mr. Blade powered the music with subtlety, grace and an always surprising choice of beats. He made a great show even better.

        Almost 20 years into their musical odyssey, the Indigo Girls are still discovering new places on that map.

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