INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Ana Popovic

Slippery Noodle Inn
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 9 p.m., $10, 21+

Growing up in Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia, there was no music other than blues played in Ana Popovic’s home.

“My dad was and still is a big fan of the American blues sound,” says guitarist and singer-songwriter Popovic. “I was singing those songs way before I could speak the language. By the time I was 13, I wanted to play guitar. I started playing along with the records and copying solos of Elmore James and Albert King, Albert Collins, and later on SRV and Ronny Earl.”

When Popovic was 18, she formed her first blues band, Hush. They recorded the album Hometown in 1998.

“The idea was modern arrangements and different styles of blues in one set, but most of the songs were the blues standards,” she says. “Koko Taylor, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy. … At that time, I did not dare to write music. I knew the time [would] have to come, so I was very concentrated on how the arrangement of the songs would work best with the audience, and how ‘Americans’ would do it.”

This was followed by a record deal with the German Ruf Records as a solo artist. Her Ruf debut was appropriately called Hush! (2000) and recorded in Memphis, Tenn.

Hush! was followed by Comfort to the Soul (2003) and a live Ana! (2005) as her blues reputation grew. Popovic signed with Electric Groove, a division of Delta Groove Music Inc., and released Still Making History earlier this summer. The album is for blues lovers that don’t mind some rock in their sound. It’s also her most diverse sounding album to date.

“Ever since my first CD in Belgrade, I was trying to explore music in general and music that’s in me. That’s a never-ending process,” she says. “Maybe Still Making History is as far as I got playing me, and I had the most freedom so far to be really me. I am just so inspired by switching the styles and playing each style with respect and knowledge, from blues to fusion.”

This will be Popovic’s final tour in the United States for the year, but she’s already planning the next time she can return to North America.

“I do not like to miss a lot on both sides of the ocean, and I try catching the best festivals and places in Europe and the USA,” she says. “That takes a lot of flying back and forward — and jet lag, too — but I wouldn’t change it. The nice thing about a certain time in your career is that at one point you can choose the concerts you wanna play.”

Matthew Socey is host of The Blues House Party, Saturdays at 10 p.m. on WFYI 90.1 FM.