Ana Popovic
In the blues, years or even decades of "payin' dues"
is the norm. Most blues musicians toil in relative obscurity, and those that
have been at it a while wear their struggles like a badge of honor. By those
standards, Ana Popovic's rise has been meteoric. Within five years of leaving
her native Yugoslavia, the 26-year-old singer/guitarist has played major European
music festivals like Peer, Bishopstock and Notodden. She has shared stages
with Bernard Allison, Kenny Neal and Michael Hill and recorded with hitmaker
Jim Gaines. Perhaps most impressive of all is her W.C. Handy Blues Award nomination
for Best New Artist of 2003 - a rare honor for a European blues artist. When
Ana attended the awards ceremony in Memphis this past May, she returned to
the place where she recorded her successful Ruf Records debut, "Hush"
(Ruf 1063), in 2000. Six months after those sessions, she appeared at the
Memphis in May festival alongside Bob Dylan and Ike Turner. This year, Ana's
road led back to Memphis - to record "Comfort To The Soul". The
album makes one thing clear. Ana Popovic is not about recycling worn-out clichZâs.
Her blues are fresh, positive and genre-expanding. Ana Popovic was born in
Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Her father first introduced her to the blues, through
an extensive record collection and sessions hosted at the family home. Ana
took to the guitar and founded her first serious band at age nineteen. Within
a year, she was playing outside of Yugoslavia and opening shows for American
blues icons like Junior Wells. By 1998, her band was doing 100 shows annually
and appearing regularly on Yugoslavian television. Her debut CD, "Hometown,"
provided a first glimpse of her talents as a singer and guitarist.