Lucinda Williams has too much good sense to get caught up in playing rock star.

Rather than worrying about album sales, she’s busy crafting songs with grace and genius. Rather than obsessing about shameless self-promotion, she stays with a small record label that gives her some say about what stays in and what goes out. Rather than resting on her laurels, she’s grinding out shows in small clubs, giving fans of real country music a taste of how things used to be.

Mainers will be lucky enough to be among those with a chance to get up-close and personal with Williams and be close enough to catch some of her blood, sweat and tears.

Williams will play at The State Theatre in Portland at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, with special guest Ron Sexsmith.

Williams had a breakthrough year in 1998, winning a best contemporary folk album Grammy for “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.” That record went on to certified gold status (selling 500,000 copies), which is a significant achievement for a small-label folk-country record.

Her string of success has continued into 2001 with the release of her sixth album, “Essence,” which helped propel her to new heights of critical success, as she was named Time magazine’s songwriter of the year.

Ten-time Grammy winner Emmylou Harris praised Williams’ style and substance in her piece for time celebrating Williams’ talents.

“The sound of her voice is so overwhelming and so moving that she could sing the phone book and probably give it meaning,” Harris wrote. “But she comes up with extraordinary words for that voice to sing …”

Williams is one of those artists that evokes the “I’ve never heard her, but I’ve heard of her” response from the average music fan. But even if you’ve never heard her, her songs have helped other acts go platinum several times over.

Mary Chapin Carpenter probably is the biggest benefactor of Williams’ exceptional songwriting ability. “Passionate Kisses” won Williams a Grammy for songwriting in 1993 and it earned Carpenter a huge number of record sales.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers also have borrowed from Williams’ catalog, covering “Change the Locks” for a movie soundtrack that was successful nationwide.

Tickets range from $28 to $35.50 and are available at the Stonecoast Brewing Co. box office and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets also can be purchased by calling 775-3331.