During Rufus Wainwright’s Thursday night appearance at Lawrence’s Liberty Hall he demonstrated all the elements of both his talent and his personality that guarantee that even if he never rises above cult status, that status is likely to last and last.

Rufus Wainwright entertained fans at Lawrence's Liberty Hall, Thursday night.

With an immense personal charm that’s more self-effacing than arrogant and casual good looks, Wainwright is instantly likable. His light touch and relaxed storytelling makes even risqugay humor non-threatening.

With support from his skillful, five-piece backing band, Wainwright on grand piano and acoustic guitar deftly blurred the lines between confessional singer/songwriter and pop star.

A strong singer, his reedy baritone lends it better to mid-tempo folk-rockers like “California” and up-tempo pop songs such as “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” than to ballads where he tends to write to the middle of his range, save for the occasional flourish.

The family connections ran thicker than water. Wainwright is the son of folksinger Kate McGarrigle and masterful singer/songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, best known for his career embarrassment “Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road” and for his role on the television series “Undeclared.” The younger Wainwright made numerous affectionate references to his father and performed “One Man Guy” from the elder’s 1984 album, “I’m Alright.”

Rufus Wainwright

Wainwright’s sister Martha sang backup vocals and played acoustic guitar in the band, which also included Teddy Thompson on guitar, the son of legendary guitarist Richard Thompson.

A high point of the show was a stunningly beautiful performance of “Hallelujah,” written by Leonard Cohen, whom Wainwright described as “the greatest living poet.”

Rufus Wainwright

Wainwright, born in New York but raised in Montreal, demonstrated his bilingual proficiency by performing his French “Complainte De La Butte,” his contribution to the film “Moulin Rouge.”

After the end of a lengthy set that included numerous, humorous celebrity anecdotes (Bob Dylan, Yoko Ono, Bernie Taupin and Elton John), a heartfelt rendering of the Beatles’ “Across The Universe,” and closed with his excellent “April Fools,” Wainwright returned for an encore highlighted by the raucous “Instant Pleasure,” from the soundtrack of the Adam Sandler film “Big Daddy.”