Music: Rufus on Fire

"CIGARETTES AND CHOCOLATE MILK," croons Rufus Wainwright on his 2001 album "Poses." "These are just a couple of my cravings. Everything it seems I like's a little bit stronger, a little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me."

It is with lyrics such as these that listeners' love affairs with the Canadian-American artist begins. "Everything I like is bad for me, too," he or she thinks. "This guy must be on to something."

Indeed, it has always been Wainwright's knack at relating to us that makes audiences (and critics) adore him. He has the fearless and uncanny ability to verbalize what we are afraid to admit, or didn't know we felt. That and his slightly nasal vibrato often layered over operatic, catchy piano melodies has made being a Rufus-ite one of life's easier tasks.

You can hear that voice live on Sunday when Wainwright joins headliner Cyndi Lauper, along with Debbie Harry, Erasure, the Dresden Dolls and comedian Margaret Cho in a gay-friendly festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Also surely on tap will be cuts from Wainwright's fifth album in a decade, the ambitious "Release the Stars."

On the opening track, Wainwright leads with the words, "Do I disappoint you, in just being human?" He exposes himself to us without an agenda. Never mind that he's a gay man living in a straight person's world. Or that he suffered from a debilitating crystal meth addiction. To Wainwright, problems are defined by their universal nature. "Do I disappoint you, in being just like you?" he asks. Au contraire, Rufus. We're honored.

» Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Md.; Sun., 6 p.m, $41-$126; 800-551-7328.

Written by Express' Karmah Elmusa
Photo courtesy Ellis Parrinder