He’s blessed with an uncommonly light and brittle tenor, one that does not immediately signal the singer’s gender.

Performing with a string quartet, full of versatile players that also added electric guitar and saxophone in spots, as well as a bassist and drummer, the androgynous front man showcased his stunning voice for nearly two hours. More so, it served to underscore what’s becoming increasingly clear: Hegarty is one of the most important voices to come along in many years. The group’s Masonic outing definitely lived up to the advance hype. The West Sussex native’s second full-length, 2005’s “I Am a Bird Now,” won the prestigious Mercury Prize, given out to the best album by a British artist, and his latest platter, the recently released “The Crying Light,” has received rave reviews. His band, Antony and the Johnsons, has quickly risen to become one of the most acclaimed acts in the music business.

“It’s weird to pull into the city and see Union Square and say, `Oh, I use to beg for money on that corner,” remarked the 37-year-old vocalist, who went to high school in San Jose before leaving to make his mark in New York City.

He was headlining San Francisco’s Nob Hill Masonic Center on Tuesday night, performing in front of a packed house of some 2,500 fans during the opening concert of the 17th annual Noise Pop Festival, and yet he couldn’t help but think back to his teenage years spent in the Bay Area. The moment was a bit surreal for Antony Hegarty.

Margret kirby s t e wasilla ak