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Ana Popovi\u0107 is nobody’s idea of a typical blues guitarist. Born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, she nonetheless grew up immersed in the quintessentially American musical form. \u201cI was inspired as a little girl of six or seven years old,\u201d Popovi\u0107 says. \u201cMy father and his friends would play Albert King, Elmore James, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix until late at night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Popovi\u0107 learned to sing along in English long before she could understand the language. By her teenage years she had already studied jazz guitar, and would go on to a music conservatory in Utrecht, the Netherlands. But Popovi\u0107 was so busy playing shows that she missed quite a few exams. Her career had taken off; she released her first album in 2001, leading a band called Hush.<\/p>\n
While a female blues guitarist is still a relatively uncommon phenomenon, Popovi\u0107 prefers not to focus on gender; for her, it’s about the music. \u201cI’ve always thought it was important to have your own style and to come out strong with something different,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Over the course of nearly ten albums, Popovi\u0107 has developed a style all her own, one that features her sizzling guitar work in the context of more than just blues. Her most recent album, 2016’s Trilogy<\/i>, has strong elements of soul, r&b and funk. \u201cI have a perfect excuse to be different and try myself in different genres,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause I was not born in the [Mississippi] Delta.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Popovi\u0107 hasn’t abandoned the blues, and isn’t likely to do so in the future. \u201cI absolutely love to search the new styles,\u201d she admits, \u201cbut on every record, there’s always a deep blues cut.\u201d And the guitarist has earned her share of honors and accolades along the way. For four successive years, Popovi\u0107 has been featured in the all-star \u201cExperience Hendrix\u201d concert tour package, playing live alongside other modern-day blues giants like Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Keb’ Mo and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. \u201cI think this is where I feel most at home,\u201d she says. \u201cIt’s not just a tribute gig; it’s all top-notch guitar players.\u201d<\/p>\n