Unlike the standard divas ruling the pop and country music charts, Kathy Mattea is multidimensional.

Rather than using her guitar as a prop while jumping octaves with overblown vibrato, Mattea obviously prides herself on musicianship.

Mattea put the Shania Twains and Faith Hills of the world to shame Sunday afternoon with a powerful tour stop at the Maine Center for the Arts at the University of Maine.

She, along with a dynamic band, played two riveting sets, covering a multitude of styles on Sunday, including an hour of Christmas selections.

Mattea had the audience in her palm from the outset, setting aside the slick processing of 1990s country music in favor of a wide assortment of acoustic instruments and well-blended voices allowed to speak for themselves.

Though she has been a fixture on the country scene for 15 years, Mattea’s style doesn’t conform to the Nashville sound. Rather than a grating twang, her voice is a rich, powerful alto, lending clarity to a collection of both heart-rending and fun songs.

Mattea and her seven-piece ensemble showed no signs of wear from a 36-hour bus trip from Nashville to the great north woods. With her fiddle player wielding his bow like a broadsword, Mattea launched into a 10-song set, chasing a spectrum of emotions into the near-capacity crowd.

The set began without haste at the scheduled 3 p.m. start time. Mattea combed enthusiasm from the crowd, playing selections from “The Innocent Years,” an album she released earlier this year.

Mattea described the album and its title track as a coming-of-age. “This song is about turning 40 and being dragged kicking and screaming into adulthood,” she said, drawing a rise from the enthusiastic crowd.

The set started with an acoustic-pop vibe before Mattea took the show in directions that surprised and delighted the house. Rather than sticking to a formula, Mattea let her band show off, crossing over into other genres of music, including rock, blues and, most impressive, Irish folk.

The Irish twist drew raucous applause, with textured harmonies backed by mandolins, fiddles, piano, and Mattea jumping in occasionally on a whistle.

Throughout the set, the audience clapped in unison, yipped with approval and gasped in disbelief. Mattea’s blend of styles was an eye-opener, bringing a feel of true country music while showing how vast her musical vocabulary is.

After a 20-minute intermission, Mattea and her band of merry men and women poured on an hour of Christmas music. Although many of the songs were not familiar as holiday standards, they were by no means disappointing.

Mattea belted her way through tunes written by Keith Whitley and Janis Ian – songs focused mostly on the Nativity, as she shied away from commercial Christmas.

After a pair of songs with their holy messages cloaked by minor chords and haunting harmonies,

Mattea gave the audience a taste of tradition. But, given her eclectic performance an hour earlier, any old “Silent Night” wouldn’t do.

Mattea, once again, didn’t disappoint.

She led her flawless band into a concoction of Christmas songs – always recognizable, but never traditional. Within her “Christmas collage” were pieces of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “What Child is This?” and others.

A musician with respect for country roots and a flair for all other styles doesn’t come along very often. Mattea has proved herself a star throughout her career, but her live performance puts her over the top.

Diva or no diva, Mattea and her band deserve top billing on any stage. Her excellent musicianship and taste showed that she doesn’t belong with the video-making prima donnas – they couldn’t hold a candle to her.