If you had to pick a turning point in T Bone Burnett's remarkable 40-year-career, it would be Feb. 27, 2002 – the night the 6-foot-6 producer ambled onstage at the Grammys to accept the trophy for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which had won for album of the year.

Jesse Dylan

In the '60s, T Bone Burnett cut records with acts ranging from Betty Buckley to Conway Twitty.

Before that night, he was fed up with money-grubbing music executives telling him how to do his job. After O Brother, he was suddenly free to do as he pleased.

"Nobody says anything to me anymore," the Fort Worth native says with a laugh. "And if they do say something, I just ignore them."

Such are the perks when your odd little soundtrack of old-time Americana sells 7 million albums and beats U2 for Grammy's top award.

Since then, Burnett, 60, has cherry-picked projects with artists who hate to compromise almost as much as he does, such as Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, whose Raising Sand CD he produced. He'll serve as the duo's bandleader tonight at Nokia Theatre.

Artists flock to him not because he's a proven hit-maker – he isn't – but for the way he cuts through to find the soul of a song.

"Everything he does sounds organic," says Cary Pierce of Dallas band Jackopierce.

"He's almost Zen, like a safecracker," says singer Peter Case.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, featuring T Bone Burnett, tonight at 8 at Nokia Theatre. Ticketmaster. $49.50 to $89.50.