At the tender age of 22, Fargo-native (that's North Dakota, you betcha) Jonny Lang [ tickets ] can say he's shared the stage with Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, B.B. King and Buddy Guy.

On a balmy Wednesday night (7/7) in the hills above the Silicon Valley, Lang headlined Saratoga's Mountain Winery with his six-piece band, dishing up heartfelt vocals beyond his years, and guitar maturity to match.

Drawing material from all four of his albums--1995's "Smokin'," 1997's "Lie To Me," 1998's "Wander This World" and his most recent A&M effort, "Long Time Coming"--Lang let the songs speak for him.

The lanky Lang opened up with the title track from "Long Time Coming," with sparse bass and snare drum accompaniment. The rest of the sextet joined for the rocking "Get What You Give," which featured a particularly impressive, simultaneous guitar-and-vocal solo by Lang. It should go without saying: his musical instincts leave no room for him to be compared to any of his peers. Although his good looks don't hurt, it's not style that got Lang this far--and got Steven Tyler to play harmonica on his latest album--it's flat out skill.

Clad in a simple, gray T-shirt, jeans and sandals, Lang was the perfect, no-frills guy next door. Whenever he addressed the crowd between songs, he did it with a meek humility that no doubt only endeared him more to the laid-back California audience. And even though the between-song banter was subdued (evidently, "Are you guys having fun yet?" is about as verbose as he gets on stage), the kid absolutely came alive when it was time to solo. Leaning over the front row, he tenaciously played to the audience, channeling Stevie Ray Vaughn one moment, vintage Clapton the next, Hendrix--and anybody else he wanted to throw in there--the next.

Talking guitar aside, what's truly stunning to hear in the flesh is Lang's voice. If he asked you whether or not you wanted your value meal super sized, you probably wouldn't flinch. But when he belts out "If We Try," "Get Me Up Again" or the plaintive "Red Light," you'd swear that his truck broke down, the dog died and a woman took half his stuff--three or four times. Of course, take away that weathered singing voice, and he'll be carded until he's 40.

Cute prodigies come and go, but Lang commanded the respect of the people who brick-and-mortared the ground he's walking on--before he could drive. A five-minute clip on TV or radio doesn't do him justice.

Opener Mindy Smith played a snappy, 50-minute set of country-influenced tunes, backed very ably by her quartet. In a humorous aside, she described traveling up the steep, winding road to the venue in a tour bus. She laughingly quipped, "I'm not taking a tour bus back down the hill." A few twangy tunes and a mandolin solo later, it was time to welcome the blond blues prodigy and his Telecaster.